chefzadi

I love kebabs too! I don't know if they are Arab or Turkish in origin. I always thought Arabic, but I've seen some accounts that point to a Turkish origin. Hard to say which as far as I can see (which sometimes isn't that far ). Basically it's meat on a skewer cooked over a fire. Here are some Algerian marinades, salt and pepper to taste on all of them. Olive oil garlic chopped flat leaf parsley cumin fennel coriander turmeric or Olive oil pureed onion and garlic lemon juice sumac or Olive oil garlic saffron turmeric cumin or Olive oil garlic cumin fennel coriander caraway finely chopped herbs such as thyme, flat leaf parsley or coriander leaf or Olive oil Blood orange juice honey nutmeg ginger there's more... The acids or tenderizing agents of choice in Algeria would be citrus or pureed onions. We don't do yoghurt, which I think of as a Middle Eastern touch. I think of vinegar as more Middle Eastern to.

Chicken Ballotine stuffed with Shitake and Enoki Mushrooms, Pancetta and Shiso. Just add a tiny bit of finely chopped shiso or you could to a crispy fried shiso leaf garnish. Another suggestion is a braised lotus root or very thinly sliced and quickly sauteed lotus root garnish. Neutral flavor but adds another Japanese touche. For the chicken demi-glace... Brown a whole chicken and the mirepoix in the oven. Trim off the excess fat from the bird on both ends. Get a good color on it. Make a stock from the whole bird, meat and all plus the mirepoix, strain and reduce to a glaze. Kiss it with soy at the end.

They're called mehemer in Algeria. One of the simpler ones is loaded with peas. More intensely flavored versions include roasted or caramelized vegetables. Such as eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, onions and garlic. Spices can be added, cumin, coriander, fennel for example. Herbs like zaatar, flat leaf parsley or coriander leaf. It can be a mezze or a light meal with a salad and Algerian "Arabic" bread otherwise known as a baguette. (the last reference is for Behemoth ) I also wonder if such omelets are found in the Middle East?

The Algerian ones are thick like a Spanish tortilla or an Italian fritata. The potato one is the most basic. But the fillings are only limited by the imagination of the cook. Peas, artichokes, eggplant (which doesn't look that great, but tastes so good), spinach, cardoons... any number of vegetables that are found in the regions. For more flavor saute the aromatics first, roasted vegetables and the addition of spices give it that special Maghreb flavor.

The Lebanese brands seem to be pretty good. Not because the Lebanese make the best version , but because industry is more established over there, then say Algeria. The Lebanese brands seem to be the most available in the states.

Yoghurt plain water or carbonated water lemon juice salt cumin (optional)

When my wife and I were invited to dinner at an Algerian friend's home in Paris, she said that the whole night she was thinking, "don't they ever stop eating couscous?" especially when dessert came out. Sugar, raisins and cinnamon with Kefir. Dates and figs are also common. Some nuts too. I prefer kefir to other dairy because it has a refreshing tang.

The Algerian smen is pretty stinky too. My maman totured me with that stuff. Part Berber here.

Oh, woops. Duh. I do, however, have a bunch of Iraqi Jewish recipes from some Iraqi Jewish friends of mine, if anybody is interested. ← How are Iraqi Jewish recipes different from Muslim Iraqi recipes? It's halal to do meat and dairy combos, as well as egg and meat combo. Aside from that... ? ?

Pancakes 1/2 teaspoon dry yeast 1 teaspoon sugar 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water 1 1/2 cups AP flour Sugar Syrup 2 cups sugar 1 cup water a drop of rose water a gentle squeeze of lemon juice Fillings Walnuts sugar rose water Cheese fillings I can''t recall the name of the cheese I suppose depending on what you're in the mood for ricotta or mozzarella could work. You can bake these as well.

Algerian Chicken Kebabs- Olive oil garlic thyme saffron turmeric cumin lemon juice All of the other versions (minus the yoghurt) could be found in Algeria as well. The thing is some dishes are ubiquitious in the Arab countries. So there's no Libyan version or Palestinian version or Lebanese version per se. But a whole lot of different cook's versions.

Overall I think the menu is "Japanese" enough with just a little fine-tuning for a Western audience. Maybe it's not enough for a Japanese audience. I also think that Origami's audience is probably expecting French style with some Japanese ingredients rather than Japanese style with French ingredients. Also Japanese can mean other Asian things to this type of audience. Just like in Asia sometimes "Western food" is White people food.

I have some questions, if you can answer at all: 1. I don't think kiwi is very Japanese. I could easily replace it with umeboshi paste or umezu (plum vinegar) or something. Is that risky in your country? I don't think plum vinegar would be risky. 2. Japanese cuisine is improvisation in that the humble chef cooks what happens to be in season at the time of cooking. Butterbur sprouts are now in season in Japan. The bitterness truly represents the coming of spring. Shredded butterbur sprouts go perfectly with miso. Is that risky? You can't get them in your country? French cuisine is in touch with the seasons as well. At the cuisine du terroir level it always was. 3. No meal is complete without rice in Japanese cuisine. Are a tiny rice ball and a bowl of clear clam soup before the final dessert totally ridiculous? Rice will not be missed at all by a Westerner eating or looking at French/Japanese dishes. From a French chef's point of view rice has no place in French fine dining. I'm not saying that the attitude is correct, I'm just saying that's the way it's looked at. Also in a French meal the courses wouldn't flow that way. So now we're touching on who the audience is.

Not sure, I think I saw things like rosemary jus, parsley nage and such on fine dining menus outside of California. Sometimes a culinary term gets overused in the States such as coulis, then the menu writer's change it to puree or soubise. Reduction sauces become passe in the minds of a few foodwriters, suddenly it's all about jus. There is quite a bit of false innovation that's made up by applying different words to the same stuff. EDIT: I do know what is sometimes meant by parsley jus. It means jus that has a little chopped parsly in it or has been infused with parsley. I don't know if I would write it on a menu that way.

I'm one of those idiots. All of the variations of "jus" for instance????? Parsley jus, for example 'cause parsley gives off a lot of juice, I'm so stupid that even though I'm a native speaker of French and a classically trained chef I'm still lost and dazed when it comes to the use of French culinary terms in the States. I'm looking forward to all the PM's.

We don't order it. But my wife and I were "exposed' to it for other reasons. I commiserate with your point of view Retriever. This forum has it's slants, but it is open in other ways. I know of a pro forum where industry insiders have a great time.

I worked in the UK for a few years, England and Scotland. They like their red meat. Maybe beef instead of the chicken? Just a suggestion. I'm so sure if this were posted in another forum we would be flamed to death with responses like , "excuse me I'm British, but I happen to like____, we're not all ___"

When I first met my wife she was on the Korean plan, dinner around 6:00 and I was firmly on the European plan, 9:00. But after eight years together the compromise plan is 7:30-8:00. This still doesn't always work either, because most evenings she is famished by 7:00 and I just can't start untill 8:00 at the earliest. This has been the hardest cross-cultural difference to overcome, actually it was the only one. Although she might have a different opinion about this.

Mexican oregano is more intensly flavored. I've only seen the dried version in regular markets. And I haven't looked for fresh in Mexican markets. Anyway, in that recipe it seems that Italian oregano would be fine. A plain white wine vinegar seems suited for that recipe. But then again I am left totally speechless by it. But nullo is a more is more kind of egulleter which is great.

Just curious, why pork broth for a reduction sauce to serve with beef?

I was initially thinking Makhroud as well. I do miss those pastry shops in France, but I cannot recall what the name of the cookie you are refering to is. But this is a butter cookie recipe that would be used in North African sweets. 1 c Semolina 1 cup All-purpose flour 1 cup of butter a few tablespoons sugar (or more if you won't be doing the honey syrup) (you can us all semolina flour if you want) add chopped almonds if you wish. Honey syrup 1 cup Water 1 1/2 cup Honey you add a little orange water to this. As for the coloring add some food coloring. Maybe they are ghrabeh, but I don't recall those being colored or soaked in syrup. I think if you play around with it a bit, you'll get something pretty close to what I think it is you're describing.

I wonder why they would have Moroccan cuisine in Libya and not Algerian? There is a huge country that seperates Libya from Morocco called Algeria. Culinarily (is that a word?) speaking Algeria and Tunisia are seperate from Libya by what is called the "couscous line". But I would imagine some of the so called Maghreb tajines would be found in traditional Libyan cookery as well. Zeitoun's description of Lebanese lentil and swiss chard soup could be called a lentil tajine as well. Same ingredients, same techniques.

No responses? I'm curious.

Sounds like Algerian felfel, but we roast the peppers.