Recipe - Couscous

Couscous!

Ingredients:

1 cup course semolina flour
1 cup fine semolina flour
4 T olive oil
1 cup water
1 2-inch stick of cinnamon

Tools:

Cookie Sheet
Shifter (like what you'd use for powered sugar)
Veggie Steamer

Pictorial Directions:

Dump the course semolina onto a cookie sheet and drizzle the olive oil over it.


Rub the flour in big circles with your open hand.



Try to get it all mixed in.


Add a quarter cup of water and a quarter cup of the fine semolina at a time until it's all been added.  Rake your fingers through and roll your palm over with each addition.




Now, shift it through a fine mesh.  Put the pellets aside and add an extra tablespoon of water to the flour.  Add the rest of the couscous back onto the cookie sheet and rub/rake again.


Keep repeating until you get bored.  Throw away the extra flour (or save it as the Algerians would do...but I have to admit that I threw it away...).


Place the cinnamon stick in boling water and steam the couscous over the water for 30 minutes.  I covered the couscous most of the time.


Dump back onto the cookie sheet and mash with a whisk.  This was pretty fun!


Steam the couscous for another 20 minutes.  I left it uncovered.


Fluff with a fork and serve with meat or veggies.

 References

• http://www.paula-wolfert.com/recipes/roll_your_own_couscous.html
• http://deliciousshots.blogspot.com/2013/08/from-semolina-to-couscous.html
• http://www.seriouseats.com/2012/08/behind-the-scenes-making-couscous-at-birch-and-barley-dc-slideshow.html

Recipe - Chicken Tangine with Apricots and Pinenuts

Chicken Tangine with Apricots and Toasted Pine Nuts

There are as many styles of tangine as there are cooks in Algeria (and Morocco).  I picked this one because Pete likes Orange Chicken and I was hopeful that this would be reminiscent of that.  I wouldn't say that it was, but I would say that it was great and that it's one of Pete's favorites so far in this cooking challenge.  Selfishly, I had some extra dried apricots from the Afghanistan meal and left over pine nuts from pesto that I made a while ago so shopping was very easy.  Almost everything besides the marmalade was in my pantry!

If you aren't a fan of pine nuts, you could substitute almonds.

Chicken

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs chicken thighs
• 2 T olive oil (divided)
• 3 shallots, finely chopped
• T 2 minced garlic
• 1 T peeled, grated ginger
• 1/4 t turmeric
• 1/4 t sweet paprika (Hungarian is okay, regular is not)
• Pinch of saffron threads (optional)
• 1 cup water
• 2 T marmalade or bitter orange preserves (I used Seville orange marmalade from Trader Joe's)
• 1 2-inch cinnamon stick
• 6 dried apricots, chopped
• 1 T thinly chopped flat left parsley or cilantro

Directions:

1. Brown the chicken in olive oil then remove from pan and put on a plate and set aside.
2. Saute the shallots in the oil from the chicken
3. Add the garlic, ginger, paprika and tumeric and stir for 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Return the chicken to the pan and coat it with the shallot mixture.
5. Add the water and saffron (if you are using it) and simmer for 30 minutes.
6. During this time, make the pine nuts.
7. Add the marmalade, apriots and cinnomon stick and parsley or cilantro.  Simmer another 10 minutes.
8. Remove the chicken from the pan once more and place in a warm spot.  Reduce the broth until it's a thick sauce.
9. Serve the chicken covered with sauce and pine nuts with couscous or bread.

The chicken all cooked up and waiting for the sauce to cook down

Yummy sauce

Roasted Pine Nuts

• 1 T olive oil
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1/4 t turmeric
• 1/4 t sweet paprika (Hungarian is okay, regular is not)

In a small skillet heat the olive oil.  Add the pine nuts, turmeric and paprika.  Saute until brown. This won't take more than a couple of minutes so be careful that you don't burn them.

Transfer to a plate.

References:

• http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chicken-Tagine-with-Apricots-and-Spiced-Pine-Nuts-241506
• http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/algeria-recipes-chicken-tagine-with-apricots-and-spiced-pine-nuts.asp

Recipe - Djouaz el Hummus (Algerian Chick Pea Soup)

Zander loved this soup.  He ate it for lunch every day all week and would cry when the bowl was empty.  Pete and I both also loved this soup.  It was very earthy and filling.  We ate it as the starter, but it was heavy enough to be a good meal in and of itself.  If you feel like being a carnivore, maybe add some lamb stew meat to this.

I will definitely make this again because Zander loved it so.

I added some harissa to mine, but didn't want the baby to have something too spicy.  Harissa is a typical North African hot sauce.  I bought mine because I'm a slacker, but you could make your own if you wanted.

Djouaz el Hummus

Ingredients:

• 2 cans chickpeas (total 30 oz)
• 1/2 cup lentils
• 4 T minced garlic
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 t turmeric
• 1 t saffron1 t harissa
• 2 T tomato paste
• 1 quart cooking water, or veggie/chicken/beef broth
• Olive oil

Directions:

1. Saute the garlic, cumin and turmeric in olive oil for five minutes.
2. Add the chickpas and water or broth and simmer for about an hour.
3. Stir in the rest of the ingredients (saffron, harissa, tomato paste)
4. Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth.
5. Rinse the lentils a couple of times then add them to the soup and let cook until the lentils are soft, about 20 minutes.

References

• http://globaltableadventure.com/2010/02/21/recipe-hummus-bil-kammun-chickpea-soup/
• http://recipes.wikia.com/wiki/Djouaz_el_Hummus,_Algerian_Chick_Pea_Soup
• http://foodfrenzydigest.com/djouaz-el-hummus-algerian-chickpea-soup/