Algeria

 Welcome to Algeria!  Algeria is the largest country in Africa, and the tenth-largest country in the world!  It is also home to the Sahara Desert, which covers 4/5 of the land mass of Algeria!  Their national animal is the Fennec fox, which is the smallest fox in the world, but has 6-inch ears!  They are pretty cute!  According to Google, the population of Algeria is 47.74 million people and the capital is Algiers.  Their national dish is...

Couscous!

I'm seeing a theme with African nations...Their national dish is usually something to do with cornmeal and water, peanuts, stew, or couscous!  Sadly, I couldn't eat the couscous, but Handsome Husband could!  To go along with the couscous, I made a chicken stew and Maaqouda, which is like a potato dumpling.  In looking at the recipes, it didn't look like it would take us much time to cook.  But there were a lot of things I was keeping track of!  Here's what I did:

ALGERIAN CHICKEN COUSCOUS

1 C couscous

4 chicken thighs

2 potatoes, quartered

1 carrot, cut into 2-inch pieces

1 onion, diced

1 can diced tomatoes, liquid included

Small bunch parsley, chopped

1 tbsp butter

1 tsp saffron

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tbsp avocado oil

1. Place a large pot on medium heat and melt butter. 
2. Add chicken, chopped onion, saffron, ginger, turmeric, salt and pepper to the pot.
3. Cook to brown the chicken and mix everything together.
4. Add the tomatoes and parsley to the pot. 
5. Cover with hot water and cook for 10 min.
6. Place the couscous in a shallow dish and add 1/2 tsp of salt and 1tbsp of avocado oil. 
7. Mix it with your fingers. You want to make sure all the grains are nicely coated. 
8. Transfer potatoes and carrots into the pot with chicken and boil for another 20 min or until cooked.
9. Cook the couscous in a separate pot according to the directions (mine said to boil water, put the couscous in the water, and let it stand for 5 minutes). 
10. Serve couscous in a deep-dish plate, add chicken and veggies on top. Pour as much sauce as you like. 
11. Enjoy!

(Source: Algerian Chicken Couscous)

MAAQOUDA

1 lb potatoes

1 egg, beaten

2 tbsp gluten free breadcrumbs

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

1 1/2 tbsp finely chopped parsley

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp cumin

Gluten free flour (for coating)

Salt and pepper, to taste

Oil for frying

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the potatoes until tender.
2. When the potatoes are cooked, drain and mash them. 
3. Add the breadcrumbs, garlic, onion, cumin, turmeric, parsley, beaten egg, salt and pepper. 
4. Stir to incorporate all the ingredients. If the mixture is too firm, add some breadcrumbs.
5. Shape 2-inch diameter patties.
6. In a large saucepan, heat enough oil for deep frying to 350F.
7. Drench maaqouda in flour to cover both sides. 
8. Remove excess flour and deep fry on one side, then the other. 
9. Drain on paper towels and serve with freshly squeezed lemon.
10. Enjoy!

(Source: Maaqouda)

The verdict?  Well, first of all, I forgot to take a picture - oops! The chicken stew needed salt - I would double it next time.  The flavors and spices were similar to those of Morocco; this makes sense, since Algeria borders Morocco!  It smelled amazing as it was cooking.  I thought that it would be tricky to cut the chicken while it was in the stew, but it just shredded beautifully.  We ate the stew and chicken with some homemade bread - delicious!  The maaqiudas were really good as well, and it wasn't as labor-intensive as several other frying recipes have been.  I don't think it needed the flour coating - I think it would have been fine with no coating.  They had really good flavor, and were tasty with the lemon squeezed on them!  Handsome Husband will have to tell you about the couscous.

The couscous was quite tasty, and very fluffy.  I was surprised by the light texture of it, even after it had soaked up some of the sauce... and the couscous and sauce was a great combination, they blended very well. It also made a great base for the chicken and veggies.

ME

Taste of Algerian Chicken Couscous (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 6

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 7

 

HANDSOME HUSBAND

Taste of Algerian Chicken Couscous (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 6

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 7

ME

Taste of Maaqouda (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 7

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 8

 

HANDSOME HUSBAND

Taste of Maaqouda (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 7

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 6

Join us next time in Indonesia!