Couscous and briks

[SobaAddict70]

Dinner tonight is steak and couscous. As I was eating, it got me to thinking -- how many here have made couscous the traditional Algerian/Moroccan style? And how many prefer it differently? With or without harissa? With or without merguez? Vegetables cooked separately or together? Everything served atop the couscous or serve yourself as you go?

And for that matter, have you ever had a brik? Those things are amazing. A pity I've never learned how to make one. If I wasn't on crutches atm and if I knew how to do one, I'd definitely bring them to the PPL. The sensation of biting into a brik and mixing the spicy lamb filling with all the gooey yumminess of an egg yolk is something almost as good as....___________ here!!!

Ok, discuss.

Soba

[GG Mora]

Years ago I lived with a French professor who had been in the Peace Corps in Tunisia. He turned me on to all kinds of amazing food; my first trip to Paris, we spent making the rounds of Tunisian and Moroccan dives. I still have a weak spot for merguez.

He used to make briks from time to time, but he used tuna -- as in canned tuna. But the briks were delicious, and yeah... it's all about the gooey eggy thing.

[Comfort Me]

Dinner tonight is steak and couscous. As I was eating, it got me to thinking -- how many here have made couscous the traditional Algerian/Moroccan style? And how many prefer it differently? With or without harissa? With or without merguez? Vegetables cooked separately or together? Everything served atop the couscous or serve yourself as you go?

And for that matter, have you ever had a brik? Those things are amazing. A pity I've never learned how to make one. If I wasn't on crutches atm and if I knew how to do one, I'd definitely bring them to the PPL. The sensation of biting into a brik and mixing the spicy lamb filling with all the gooey yumminess of an egg yolk is something almost as good as....___________ here!!!

Ok, discuss.

Soba

You have really hit my soft spot. I love North African food. Love it!

Couscous is my favorite. I have a couscousierre which belonged to a friend's pioneer grandmother in the early 20th century when she moved to what was then known as Palestine and live in a tent and cooked over a fire. I never actually use it -- it is too small for my use -- but I love having it.

I steam my couscous in the traditional manner. I don't have a gsaa, but I use a wide, low (3") piece of crockery instead. I fluff and rake in the traditional manner. But instead of making it in a couscousierre, I use an electric vegetable steamer lined with a coffee filter. It works very, very well.

As for the stews -- I love them all. I've never had one I didn't like. I tend not to use as much fat as the authentic recipes -- which often start with 1/2 cup of olive oil or s'mem. As for merquez -- unless it is a vegetarian or dairy meal, I've never been in any situation where having merquez hurt! (I make my own now, 'cuz I like it nice and spicy!) And I can't imagine life without harissa!

I have a wonderful recipe for briks that I got in Israel which I will pass on when I have the chance. They are labor intensive, but delicious. What I do is buy enough ingredients for a double batch, then have a friend who is handy in the kitchen over and we sit and kvetch and fold briks. When they are all done, I divide them in half and she takes home half and I keep half.

I also recommend grinding your own lamb -- you can control the amount of fat which goes in that way, which I think improves the taste. Lamb fat is rather strong. I know not everyone has a grinder, but it can probably be done in the food processor.

And while Paula Wolfert might make warka by hand, I suggest you go to a Greek bakery and ask to purchase fresh phyllo. You'll be glad -- both for the flavor and the fact that it is easier to work with than the frozen, factory made sheets.

Ummmm. Now I'm hungry for a couscous with seven vegetables!

[Adam Balic]

Couscous I have made in the authentic manner (see link from an earlier post) and I have now done it several times, each has been trouble free and fun.

Couscous adventure

Briks I haven't made, mostly due to the pastry. I have always though that I should make a certain Tunisian Brik that contains a raw egg. But maybe another day!

[Louisa Chu]

I did a brik variation once at Cordon Bleu with leftover ingredients - brik pastry, chicken pistachio stuffing - ground myself, with extra chicken skin, and lots of garlic - and the egg of course - gotta have the egg. Deep fried until golden - dusted with a little powdered sugar - from the pastry class next door. Bit into it too hot - but when I hit that soft egg yolk - lust, pure lust.

[Pan]

Comfort Me: Which vegetables do you use?

[Comfort Me]

Comfort Me: Which vegetables do you use?

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.

[chefzadi]

Comfort Me: Which vegetables do you use?

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.

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A truc from this thread

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 3 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 pastry 'nest, added the onion, tuna, caper, parsley mixture and broke the egg into the nest and seasoned 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.

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.)

[chefzadi]

As for the stews -- I love them all. I've never had one I didn't like. I tend not to use as much fat as the authentic recipes -- which often start with 1/2 cup of olive oil or s'mem

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.

Edited May 16, 2005 by chefzadi (log)

[touaregsand]

Pastry leaves from Tunisia.

I'm planning on preparing brik for lunch today or tomorrow. I will post photos.

[AmyDaniel]

And while Paula Wolfert might make warka by hand, I suggest you go to a Greek bakery and ask to purchase fresh phyllo.  You'll be glad -- both for the flavor and the fact that it is easier to work with than the frozen, factory made sheets.

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What a great idea!

JY, did you purchase those pastry leaves from a N. African market? Are they common in N. African/Middle Eastern markets?

[touaregsand]

And while Paula Wolfert might make warka by hand, I suggest you go to a Greek bakery and ask to purchase fresh phyllo.  You'll be glad -- both for the flavor and the fact that it is easier to work with than the frozen, factory made sheets.

←

What a great idea!

JY, did you purchase those pastry leaves from a N. African market? Are they common in N. African/Middle Eastern markets?

←

I wish these were available in the States, but they are not. They were a gift from a Tunisian friend of my husband. I've only seen a type of brik (brik also refers to the pastry leaves, there are several other names for them) available to the restaurant trade. I think we got it through van rex. But the ones from Van Rex were a bit thicker.

The Tunisian malsouka is incredibly delicate and the finished product is out of this world. I made some brik last night and I will post photos. But the quality of the photos are not that good. I took them myself while making them and watching two small kids.

[touaregsand]

A shot of the opened package. Each pastry leaf is seperated by a layer of plastic. Apologies for the quality of the photos (lighting problems, kids running around, yadda, yadda, yadda). The texture of the pastries is really more like spring roll wrappers which are apparently made in the same way but with different flour and they are also thicker than brik leaves. I would say that the leaves I used were twice as thick as phyllo which is not thick at all.

In this rather dark photo (yes I know I can brighten it up with any one of 6 image editing programs I have on my computer, but then I would never post any photos ) is tuna, sauteed onions, chopped parsley, chopped preserved lemon and rinsed capers. What is not in the photo is the grated parmaggiano I decided to add after I took the photo.

[Wolfert]

Good brik pastry leaves are as thin as phyllo. The reason they feel thicker in the hand is due to their preparation: the leaves are half cooked...or better expressed: cooked on one side only.

Very fine semolina flour and water is kneaded into a softish dough.

A piece of the dough is broken off, worked until a great deal of elasticity is formed, then tapped against a hot pan.

Many soft taps are made to form a large circle of pastry leaf.

:

Edited May 18, 2005 by Wolfert (log)

[touaregsand]

Good brik pastry leaves  are as thin as phyllo. The reason they feel thicker in the hand is due to their preparation:  the leaves are half cooked...or better expressed: cooked on one side only.

←

Yes of course you are correct. They feel sturdier in the hand as well.

[touaregsand]

I used two layers of the malsouka and brushed the edges of each layer with an egg wash.

I used a bowl with sloping sides to keep the egg from running. Each brik must be cooked as soon as it is put together, otherwise the egg will begin to seep through.

Ready to cook.

[touaregsand]

Voila. The finished product. I cut into the center to show the delectable runny egg yolk.

The preserved lemons added explosive bits of flavor.

The parmessan cheese, which is an idea I got from Paula Wolfert in another thread, added a dimension of savoriness.

This is one of the best briks I've ever had. If I do say so myself.

[Wolfert]

Touragsand:The addition of preserved lemon is pure genius.

I can't wait to try it.

Edited May 18, 2005 by Wolfert (log)

[chefzadi]

Fantasitc photos Paula. You must have quite the collection.

It reminds me of an article I just read about you. I think it was written a few years ago though.

The writer says something like if there is a little old lady dressed all in black in a remote village somewhere in a primitive kitchen making the best version of a regional specialty Paula Wolfert will find her and get the recipe. I'm probably not phrasing it as well as the writer did. But the description made me smile. I'm convinced you could even charm recipes out of my maman.

[Blondelle]

I've only had couscous once, and it tasted more than a bit like sand. Is it supposed to have this dry gritty texture, or was it made improperly? I would like to make it at home, but I didn't enjoy what I had in a restaurant so I was wondering if it had been made correctly or not.

[touaregsand]

I've only had couscous once, and it tasted more than a bit like sand. Is it supposed to have this dry gritty texture, or was it made improperly? I would like to make it at home, but I didn't enjoy what I had in a restaurant so I was wondering if it had been made correctly or not.

←

It's not supposed to have a dry gritty texture. It sounds like the couscous you had wasn't steamed properly, if steamed at all. The only place I would ever order is at a North African restaurant.

Couscous thread with step by step directions including photos.

[Wolfert]

. I'm convinced you could even charm recipes out of my maman.

I could try.

The only time I had trouble working with women was back in the 70's and 80's in the French Southwest. Some of the older, bony-faced "mothers" in their tight black hats just didn't "get " it about sharing recipes.

When living in in the home of Pierre Veilletet ( a famous writer and journalist) and his family in Bordeaux, my host explained that this problem of extracting recipes was all tied up with la cuisine ombilicale (pun intended). He said that mothers in the French Southwest wanted total matriarchal over everything that enters the mouth. For every problem the mother could offer a culinary solution.

Perhaps your mother just loves you a great deal.

.

[archestratus]

Although I'm not quite the culinary anthropologist that Paula is, I can add that insinuating yourself into a foreign kitchen to watch women cook and to get them to give you recipes or at least a description of what they are doing, is no easy task. As a man, it's even harder in the woman-dominated kitchens of the Mediterranean. And in Arab world it got even wackier, where the men would be sitting in the parlor smoking and talking politics or sports and there I would be with the girls, getting in their way as they made kibbe or whatever. It's exhausting work and frankly, I don't do it much anymore. Partly, that's because you need an effervescent personality, which Paula has, and I don't. So more power to you Paula.

[Wolfert]

It's exhausting work and frankly, I don't do it much anymore.

I, too, am cutting back on travel.

Partly, that's because you need an effervescent personality, which Paula has, and I don't.

I'm not sure whether it's really my "effervescent" personality or just being a woman that gets me in. There are a few womanly customs I observe, which I picked up in Morocco: kissing the women on each cheek and then sincerely touching my heart. This usually puts them at ease, and then I just sort of "move in." More times than you would believe: I move in and live with the family.

"It doesn't hurt either to build up a basic kitchen vocabulary in their language or dialect: such words as "fry" "garlic" "bread" "salt" "stew" etc. In this regard, I try not to do the obvious thing: for example, when I visited the former Soviet Georgia I didn't bother to learn the Russian words, but instead concentrated on the Georgian. The same in Sicily where Sicilian got me a lot further than Italian, and in Catalonia where Catalan warms the hostress's heart a lot quicker than Spanish. I've found that I can learn sixty or so key kitchen words in just a few days, and then it's on to sign language and nods and smiles....

I still have wonderful memories of the Jordanian families I met in Ammam thanks to Clifford Wright aka Archestratus writing some letters of introduction.

Edited May 19, 2005 by Wolfert (log)

[archestratus]

Well, yes, women can connect with each other in a much more meaningful way than a man and a woman (I'm speaking culinarily in a foreign culture for those who just joined this). For me it was harder, but frankly you're absolutely right, Paula, about learning several dozen words in the local language and dialect. I'll never forget the look on the fishmonger's face in Marsa Matruh in the western desert of Egypt when I identified a fish by the local Arabic name. I often played up how weird it was for a man to be writing about food in these women's kitchens. After all, "cookbook author" may be a profession in North America and Europe, but it is just about unknown elsewhere. The women I encountered always found me a real kick in the pants because it was so odd for this guy to be insisting that he wanted to learn about their lives. And speaking of letters of introductions--they are essential and I got into many a home in Sicily thanks to Paula's introductions. But most of the homes I got into was the end result of a process of communication that began sometimes a year or a year and a half in advance.