Algerian Food

Kefta bel Zeitoun, Algerian Stuffed Olives on a Bed of Fennel, Fenouil aux Olives Farcies

I know I said earlier that I would post about Algerian flat breads and pasta dishes this weekend, Well this weekend was more hectic than expected. And my poor quality digital camera refused to function properly most of the time.

I was thinking about leavened and unleavened flat breads that we top with different vegetables in Algeria and I thought of this dish that is usually eaten as a meze or kemia. It is also used as a topping for flat bread, a kind of "pizza" that we usually call Khobz bel plus whatever topping.

Traditionally the meat for keftas was cut into little pieces and pounded. If you have the time I suggest you try this method for keftas, the texture is superior.

Ingredients for kefta:

18-24 large green olives
18-24 d'olives vertes

1/4 pound ground lamb or beef
125 gr de viande hachee

1 egg
1 oeuf

1 teaspoon spice blend of cumin, coriander and fennel
1 cuillere a cafe d'epices

1 teaspoon of paprika
1 cuillere a cafe de paprika

Ingredients for bed of fennel

1 bulb of fennel, thinly sliced
1 fenouil

1 onion sliced
1 oignon

3 cloves of garlic
3 gousses d'ail

a few sprigs of flat leaf parsely
Persil plat

Extra virgin olive oil
Huile d'olive

Salt
Sel

Water
l'eau

Method:

Oven 300F (150C), cook 2 hours or more until tender.

1) Combine all the ingredients for the kefta in a bowl and combine very quickly do not over work the meat, stuff the olives with the mixture. If you have leftover kefta make little meatballs.

2) Put the fennel and onion slices and whole garlic cloves in baking dish, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt. Add the stuffed olives and enough water to reach mid level in the baking dish, cover with foil and place in oven.

This is delicious as a starter on pieces of grilled bread spread with a little Algerian tomato jam.

Note: The olives can also be stuffed with a mixture of finely chopped nuts, garlic and herbs. The olives will give off some of their brine during the cooking process, do not season the fennel too much with salt. During the last 15-20 or so of cooking remove the foil, stir the olives and fennel to add some color to the dish.


Algerian Semolina Sugar Cookies, Petits Gateaux au Sucre

I'm not sure what these cookies are called in Algerian. I think they might be called Ghribiyia b's-smid or Boussou la tmessou. I need feedback on this. This is a very simple recipe. The semolina actually produces a lighter sugar cookie than regular flour. You can use the photos for this recipe to guide you with the previous cookie recipes I posted.

Ingredients:

1 kg of semolina flour
1 kg de semoule

3 eggs separated
3 oeufs

750 gr of sugar
750 gr de sucre

2 sticks of butter softened
225 gr de beurre

1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
1 cuillere a soupe de vanille

If you add a teaspoon of baking soda the cookies will be lighter.

Water
Eau

An electric handheld blender really makes the job easy. I finally broke down and bought one. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C, gas mark 6)

Method:

1) Beat the egg yolks and butter until light and fluffy as shown. Add the sugar and blend.

2) Whisk the egg whites until the consistency shown. This is the way I was taught to make the cookies. I don't really know if it makes much of a difference to the finished product.

3) Add the vanilla. Blend the egg and butter mixture with the flour. The dough will feel "gritty".

4) Add the egg whites. If the dough does not come together add a little water and blend until it does. Do not overwork the cookie dough.

5) Take a walnut sized piece of dough and shape it with your hands to form a sphere. Wetting your hands with water keeps the dough from sticking to your hands. It takes a little practice to form dozens of even ones. If you like you can dip the cookies in confectioner's sugar before baking. Place the cookies 2" apart from eachother on a buttered or parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for about 10-15 minutes. My home oven is awful, poorly calibrated and it burns cookies on the bottom before the top cooks. I will have to buy a convection oven before seriously posting more recipes for baked goods.