Algerian Cuisine Cuisine Algerienne by Farid ZADItag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-1909552011-09-30T15:09:31-07:00http://www.bookofrai.com/chefzadibannercopy.jpgTypePadUpdatetag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341f59c853ef014e8bef772e970d2011-09-30T15:09:31-07:002011-09-30T15:19:02-07:00I have moved my cooking school, Ecole de Cuisine Los Angeles, to 9626 Venice Blvd, Culver City 90232. The location will also house a small food emporium, cafe, bookstore and restaurant. My flameware cookware will also be for sale in the retail section of my building. My new restaurant and...EditorQuestions from Readers about Algerian cookwaretag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341f59c853ef014e8821c02a970d2011-04-29T10:18:51-07:002011-04-29T10:18:51-07:00Q: Chef Zadi, I have been looking for a place to purchase a tadjine for stove-top cooking my matloua3. The one I had in Algeria was cast aluminum and was great for swirling the bread around to cook the sides and give it a nice round shape. Any ideas of...EditorWhat is Berber Cuisine?tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341f59c853ef014e8762c29e970d2011-04-23T12:38:37-07:002011-04-23T12:39:00-07:00It has been said that the measure of the Maghreb (the west) is couscous. There is an invisible culinary line somewhere in Libya separating couscous eating North Africans from the rice eating Arab Mashriq (the east). The culinary difference here is not merely of basic starch. The cooking technique for...EditorReviews of Couscous and Tagine Recipes #1tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341f59c853ef0147e3e41147970b2011-04-23T12:29:10-07:002011-04-23T12:29:27-07:00A lot of celebrity chefs and food personalities in France and in the United States publish couscous and tagine recipes. I'm going to select a few to review. I will not review for authenticity. I'm actually quite happy to see people adapting North African ingredients and technques to their own...EditorHow to Steam Couscoustag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341f59c853ef01538dfc9d1b970b2011-04-19T18:19:50-07:002011-04-19T18:22:40-07:00Slideshow photos by www.jefftafoya.com photography Ingredients: 1 package couscous (500 grams) 1 stick of unsalted butter salt to taste ice cold water as needed Method: 1) Place the couscous in a large round shallow dish. Stir in 1 cup of ice cold water. Let stand for 20 minutes. The couscous...EditorWho are the Berbers and Tuaregs?tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341f59c853ef014e6086fda3970c2011-04-10T14:47:20-07:002011-04-14T01:05:08-07:00Berber identification can be regional, cultural, linguistic or political, although in contemporary sociopolitics, it is more often linguistic. Self-identification tends to be more regional than the general term “Berber,” for example Shawi from the Aures Mountains or Setif province, Tuareg from Niger or Tuareg from Algeria, or Riffian from the...EditorSemolina for Breakfasttag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341f59c853ef0147e3d254d5970b2011-04-07T22:22:58-07:002011-04-08T21:53:50-07:00A few weeks ago, I taught a fresh pasta class. I included a semolina egg pasta recipe. The students in the class had never seen semolina flour before, even though all of them had eaten plenty of dried pasta all their lives. Under Italian law, pasta secca (dry pasta) can...EditorThe Importance of Semolina and the March of Couscoustag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341f59c853ef014e607566bb970c2011-04-07T18:06:20-07:002011-04-07T18:06:20-07:00Algerian Berbers in the east of the country, have a particular fondness for semolina. Semolina couscous and semolina flat bread called "kesra" or "aghrum" are staple foods. One or the other is eaten at almost every meal. My mother made semolina couscous or semolina bread everyday. I do not remember...EditorLamb: The Other White Meattag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341f59c853ef0147e3cb8fdd970b2011-04-06T22:31:02-07:002011-04-07T01:07:21-07:00(Lamb photo shoot) Not really. But local, pastured lamb from Riverside County is very good. I first slaughtered, skinned, eviscerated, and butchered a lamb when I was 14 years old. I didn't recently jump on the artisanal butchery bandwagon. I've been butchering for almost 30 years. That's a lot of...EditorLamb Mechoui for Eastertag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341f59c853ef014e60704dfb970c2011-04-06T22:11:59-07:002011-04-07T01:10:57-07:00When I first wrote about lamb mechoui five years ago, there were only a handful of posts about it on the internet. A recent Google search for lamb+mechoui shows about 30,700 results, including lamb mechoui for Easter and leftover Easter lamb rehashed as a tagine the next day. I like...EditorWorld's Largest Taginetag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341f59c853ef014e8743a97f970d2011-04-05T17:05:00-07:002011-04-05T17:05:00-07:00The Algerian Guinness World Record for the largest couscous included the world's largest tagine. 100 lambs and 1.5 tonnes (3,306.93393 lbs) of vegetables were used. The average weight of a lamb for butchering is 35-40 lbs; 37 lbs x 100= 3750 lbs. 3750+3306.9= 7056.9 lbs of tagine and that doesn't...EditorHow to Cook 1000 portions of couscous in 3 hourstag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341f59c853ef014e873f5a5c970d2011-04-05T08:14:28-07:002011-04-05T08:14:28-07:00North Africans, or more precisely, the couscous eating Maghrebis of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, often compete to make the world's largest couscous. The current Guiness World record is held by Algeria. 2,600 kilos or 5,732 lbs of semolina couscous was cooked in a custom made couscoussier which was 14 ft...EditorBeef Taginetag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341f59c853ef014e6063545f970c2011-04-04T21:22:31-07:002011-04-04T21:22:31-07:00Besides couscous, North African cuisine is, perhaps, best known for fragrant tagines seasoned with an array of spices, fruits and nuts. For the most part tagines with heavy sauces are actually special occasion dishes. They are for special guests, holidays, and tourists. Who can eat like that on a daily...EditorRabbit Tagine with Prunes and Marcona Almondstag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341f59c853ef014e605cf54c970c2011-04-03T21:00:23-07:002011-04-07T14:17:09-07:00The surprise hit of last year's couscous festival was my rabbit tagine. I say "surprise hit", because when my crew and I were planning the menu we were uncertain about whether or not a general audience of Los Angelenos would be open to eating rabbit. We were happy to be...EditorAlgerian cuisine chosen top blog by cooking schoolstag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341f59c853ef014e8737e614970d2011-04-03T19:25:52-07:002011-04-03T19:25:52-07:00CookingSchools.netEditorBenefits of Tagine Vesselstag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341f59c853ef0147e3b2d3f2970b2011-04-02T21:01:07-07:002011-04-02T22:52:25-07:00So, if you can make tagines using a dutch oven, a large soup pot, cazuela, casserole, etc.. What exactly are the benefits of cooking in an actualy tagine vessel? The conical lid stays cool during cooking, moisture from the ingredients that are cooking condense inside the lid and drips back...EditorPressure Cooker Taginestag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341f59c853ef0147e3b2b185970b2011-04-02T20:40:49-07:002011-04-02T21:56:56-07:00Pressure cookers were introduced to North Africa during the 1970's. They were widely embraced for two very important reasons: dramatic reduction of cooking time and fuel use. A dish prepared in a tagine is called a tagine. The same dish prepared in a pressure cooker is often called a marqa...EditorThe Elegant Taginetag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341f59c853ef014e87323d93970d2011-04-02T19:12:55-07:002011-04-04T23:02:12-07:00KCRW Good Food "Zadi, born in Lyon, France to Algerian parents, marries the flavors of North Africa with the precision of Escoffier. For lunch he served a seafood tagine with squid, clams, mussels and dover sole…" I do different levels of North African cooking: The simple, rustic Berber cooking of...EditorKefta (Meatball) Tagine for Marlena Spielertag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341f59c853ef014e872d564d970d2011-04-01T20:30:47-07:002011-04-01T20:36:55-07:00Algerian cuisine is a sauce driven cuisine. Lunch is often a fresh salad made from market fresh vegetables and a citrus and olive oil dressing or vinaigrette. The acid in the dressing makes the vegetables release their juices. Plenty of khobz or kesra (bread) is served to mop up all...EditorApril is Inter(National) Tagine Monthtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341f59c853ef0147e3acc60c970b2011-04-01T16:26:16-07:002011-04-01T16:31:27-07:00April is (Inter)National Tagine Month. To kick off the month, I am inviting you to enter the world of North African cuisine. Couscous, a global food, and tagines that accompany it, are often acclaimed to be one of France’s favorite dishes and extensively popular across Europe’s culinary landscape. Couscous, the...Editor