chefzadi

I was just cruising the cable channels. At this very moment she is commiting a sin against couscous. She is boiling it in chicken stock with commercial curry powder.

Thank you for the information. Sephardic Jews settled largely in Tlemcen, Algeria along with the Moors/Moriscos of course after being expelled from Spain. It would be interesting to see the cuisine of the 'converso'. FYI there is an interesting article written by an egullet member here. regarding the Moorish/Morisco connection brought by the Spanish to Mexican cooking. It explains why I've met many Mexicans named Omar or Fatima.

Israeli couscous is commercially made berkoukes (that is what the size and shape are called in Algeria and we've been eating it as long as we've had wheat). Handmade berkoukes is made like couscous (basically berkoukes are oversized couscous) by accretion. Commercially made berkoukes are called plombes in France and they are extruded like pasta. Plombes or commercially made berkoukes and like Israeli couscous it's basically like orzo pasta in a different shape. In the Middle East berkoukes are also called Maghrebiyaya meaning 'in the style of the Magreb" or made like the "Magrhreb". The distinguishing characteristic of Israeli couscous is that it is toasted. North African couscous should not be dry when cooked. It should tender, light and fluffy. Of course by dry you can mean not wet. Commercially prepared berkoukes, maghrebiyaya and plombes are boiled like pasta. Fresh handmade berkoukes are steamed. Serve with a sauce as for pasta or like couscous with a tajine. I won't comment on what I think of couscous salads...

The heavy hand with oil/smen in cooking is regional, I associate it more with Moroccan cooking. Overall I add very little oil/smen to my Algerian cooking. My mother and aunts cook the same way. So there really is nothing more or less authentice based on the amount of oil. I will add though that some marqas (stews) that have a sauce base of lots of slow cooked onions a heavy hand with oil will add flavor. Some of the oil will float to the top and can be skimmed off before service.

My favorite brik is lamb, garlic, onion, and chard (wilted and squeezed dry) with a quail egg. I use quail eggs because I can't seem to make the brik, even using small chicken eggs, without 80% of them ending up all over me. I'm kind of retarded when it comes to making briks. The last time I tried I ended up with egg in my hair, my shoes, and my lap. Never again! I had an interesting brik at a friend's house once that had heavilly seasoned, spicy lamb, fava beans, and lemon zest with an egg. She served it with a yogurt sauces. Kickass! I also like veggie briks made with potato, green onion, garlic and cauliflower with lots of cumin and coriander and a bit of tumeric. The Harissa completes the flavors well. ← A truc from this thread This is my friend Anis's recipe (He is Tunisian) Paula Wolfert posted her recipe as for the same variation of brik. add some grated paremessan and squeeze some fresh lemon juice over the finished product. (My friend gave me a packet of commercially made Malsouka -one of the many names we have in the Maghreb for thin pastry- Anyway methinks demand for the product is already pretty high. Someone out there should jump on it. I have the phone number for the company. The product is excellent. There is another warka available to the restaurant trade in the States. I have tried it and it is too thick.)

Yes, three. I am a bit of a curiosity to some (well alot ) regarding the amount of food I consume, especially since I am thin. I've never tried this dish with parmessan, but I'm sure it is a tasty addition. A squeeze of fresh lemon would be refreshing and certainly cut through the richness.

I want to gently add that the culinary contribution of the Moors had a great deal to with trade and commerce.

The 'day spa' went very well. All in all there were about 200 people, including children of the women and some volunteers. I donated a pasta dish enough to feed 40-60, it's not really possible to make more in home kitchen. Others donated food as well, so there was plenty. My food costs were about $10.00 for 5 bags of pasta, 5 cans of organic tomatoes, onions, garlic and basil. I also did a little baby sitting while the moms were being pampered a bit. I want to gently add that 'pamper' and 'day spa' are very relative. This day was about simple basics that most of us take for granted. I donated a used computer and will be teaching some classes at the shelter.

This is my friend Anis's recipe. He is a Kabylie and Arab mix like me. But our personal cooking styles are a bit different. I grew up on very mild, delicate flavored food. It was not untill that I was a young man that I tried more highly spiced dishes and began to appreciate them. I swore at first I was eating some sort of Indian curry. I would say that Anis's cooking is a bit more robust than mine very delicious by the way. I did not ask for the recipe from him, but my version of it here will yield the same results. 1/2 a medium onion finely chopped and sauteed 1 tablespoon or so of capers, rinsed and drained, left whole. 1 can of tuna packed in olive oil, drained and flaked 1 tablespoon or so of finely chopped flat leaf parsley 6 sheets of spring roll wrappers or 2 sheets of phyllo folded twice to form a square (he used Tunisian pastry as I have already mentioned. Salt and pepper to taste I didn't watch him make it. But my wife made it today and she has a little truc for breaking the egg into the wrapper without it running allover the place. She placed the folded phyllo in a soup bowl with sloping sides creating a, added the onion, tuna, caper, parsley mixture and broke the egg into the nest and seasone the egg very lightly with some salt. Voila egg mixture contained. She brushed the sides of the phyllo with a little egg, folded to form a triangle and fried the packets in hot olive oil. The same method can be used for spring rolls (do not fold them like the phyllo leaves at the beginning). The phyllo leaves absorb quite a bit of oil, this may not be suitbable for most tastes. Such a palate might prefer the spring roll wrappers. Also frying in olive oil might be too heavy for some, I suggest canola oil. Fry for about 2 minutes on each side in about 1/2' of hot oil (do not get the oil smoking hot, think shallow fry temperature not pan searing a steak temperature). The egg inside should be runny. Some prefer them a little firmer, like a loose custard. I can eat three as part of meal with 2-3 other courses. Most people probably have one as a snack or starter. Brik is available to the restaurant trade in the States but the version that I have seen is too heavy and nothing like the warka that I know. It is quite time consuming to make warka at home. But brik made with real warka has a phenomal texture and crispiness that is just not the same as phyllo or spring rolls.

Thank you for the information Pedro. These are some of the sources I'm referring to for a series of professional workshops and seminars I am composing and will be conducting on African, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines. I post them here for general interest. An Anonymous Andalusian Cookbook of the 13th Century Alot of these preparations or very simliar ones still exist in Algeria. I had many of my own versions or versions I had learned from other Algerians documented in my book on Algerian cookery before I even saw this book. Moorish culinary heritage in Iberia. Moorish heritage Dar Anahita Presents A Fragrant 13th Century Spice Box of Andalusia (I can't believe someone actually did this) I want to add that the Moors were not Moroccan Arabs as some very casually say. The dynasties were led by Amazigh (Berbers) and composed of Arabs and Black Africans from what is now Algeria and Morocco.

Sounds like it was a wonderful trip Chufi. Very simple, rustic French country food.

Jonathon- I wonder what else was in that brik? I spent part of yesterday with my Tunisian friend Anis and he cooked for me. He made the best brik I have had in my life. In Eastern Algeria they are usually made with just eggs and herbs. But they can be stuffed with just about anything. Anis made for me what I consider a more Tunisian variation. It had onions, parsley, canned tuna and capers. He used pastry leaves from Tunisia, but of course this is not an option for most. I suggest phyllo leaves or spring roll wrappers. The best part is the runny egg in the filling. Totally, wonderfully delicious.

There is also ahrissa chamia which is marzipan with different fruit flavored toppings

I'm still trying to absorb this book. I read Escoffier and Ducasse's big book with ease. But Clifford Wright's books blow me away. He wrote it in less time then it will take me to comprehend it.

I wanted to add that Indian Atta flour is very similar to a type of flour used in Algeria for flat breads. I would recomend this for the stuffed flat bread recipes especially and also the layered bread with smen or butter. Atta flour produces a nearly identical flavor to what would be found in Algeria. I like plain semolina kesra but I do know that it can be a bit too heavy in texture for non-Magrhebians.

Ore's point reminds me that Sicilians contributed to modern Algerian cooking. They came as settlers during the French colonial period. Traditional Algerian tomato sauces for pasta were usually slow simmered, sometimes with spices. But the Sicilians introduced quick cooked, fresh tomato sauces. And for some reason before the Sicilians came we used basil more for teas than in cooking.

In Cucina Paradiso the heavenly food of Sicily by Clifford Wright he discusses cucina arabo-sicula. Is there a similar sort of folklore about Arabic or Moorish influences in Spanish or Portuguese cooking? Are there any books on the subject? Tommaso d'Alba, a Sicilian writer wrote La Cucina Siciliana di Derivazione Araba. Are there any books or articles about the Moorish influences in Spain or Portugal? I consider Oran, Algeria to be very Spanish influenced. The Spaniards came in in various stages of history and of course many Moors and Moriscos settled there. We have Spanish loan words in our derja (dialect). Sometimes it gets a bit confusing because an Arab loan word into Spanish came back to Algeria in it's Spanish form and became part of the local derja rather than the original Arabic word. Oranian Rai music has Andalusian influences.

Perhaps someone in the Spain/Portugal forum would know the name of the cookies. I do know that similar (possibly nearly identical cookies) are still part of the North African repetoire of pastries. I hazzard to say that they are still made in Spain as well. ←

In this thread the author himself Clifford Wright discusses some of the points in the book with yours truly.

Cooking with beer is very Belgium. Stews, casseroles, ragouts and braises with beer.

French cooking measurements are confusing? online conversion

When will you be in Los Angeles? Give us a buzz anytime. Between you and me at a kid's party.... you know what I mean.

I like the different names of dishes in Africa and the Middle East it helps to understand regional differences. As long as we don't argue about how a dish should be correctly named or how it should be transliterated according to standard Arabic, which I never have. Imposing standard Arabic to the Magrheb is a hot issue, I suggest it be avoided here. Language sometimes helps us trace the history of dishes so if we can't talk about it at all we lose alot of valuable information. Back on topic I would use the flat skewers for this and not skimp on the chicken fat.

Butter. Add butter towards end of cooking and turn up the heat, good colour and flavour.

I'm doing a series of workshops and lectures on African and Middle Eastern cuisines. I'm in the process of composing the program now when I get to East Africa I will post some information. Right now I have stay focused on immediate tasks at hand.