We can get to know a country or city in a thousand and one different ways and obviously, the best way is to go to your own destination and experience it in the first person. But there are also more ways to get to know places in the world, such as reading books and travel guides, watching ad-hoc documentaries or tasting their gastronomy.
In this new section we will sporadically get to know some of the characteristics of the gastronomy of different parts of the planet and also one of the most characteristic recipes of the place in question. Something very interesting for travel lovers, those who like to do their first steps in the kitchen or simply, for lovers of good food.
In this first installment of Kitchens of the World we are going to Algeria, a country that has a traditional cuisine very similar to the rest of the Maghreb countries (Tunisia and Morocco) It should be noted that in the Arab world the most famous dish is couscous, a dish made with polenta, vegetables and meat (lamb or chicken )
The traditional Algerian couscous
One of the quintessential dishes of Algeria is the Meat pie, a puff pastry filled with meat and onion, lamb is also extremely appreciated in the national cuisine and is usually accompanied by dried plums and flavored with cinnamon and orange blossom, known as Lham liahlou or even roasted whole, skewered on a stake, known as mechoui.
Without a doubt, vegetables form one of the pillars of Algerian gastronomy and one of its most popular vegetable dishes is the Kemia, made with tomatoes, carrots, black beans and sardines, all accompanied by spice. The Dolma, a dish with tomatoes and peppers that varies greatly in preparation according to the different regions of the country.
Would you like to try the delicious lamb Mechoui?
During the month of Ramadan, there is a dish that is usually eaten at night, it is called chorba. It is a soup made with tomato, onion, carrot and very chopped zucchini and accompanied by lamb, chicken or beef, never pork, since this animal is totally prohibited by Muslims. It is seasoned with salt, pepper, cinnamon and parsley and occasionally includes chickpeas and red peppers.
We finish this first post dedicated to Algerian cuisine and in the next (and last) we will continue to learn about some of the main characteristics of the gastronomy of this latitude and we will learn one of the most famous recipes.