Little Christmas Cookies

I know this recipe comes a bit late but these cookies are so good, they can be eaten all year round!

At home, every year during Christmas time, we celebrate Family. It's very important to us as our family is all over the world: our brother in Germany, our uncle in Guyana, our dad's family in Mexico, our cousin in the south of France and our grandmothers in the West. For us, Christmas is an opportunity to come together, laugh a lot, eat even more and share a beautiful and resourcing moments with each other.

Ever since she knew how to handle a spoon, my sister has made cake or treats for us during december. But since a few years now, our favourite are the Little Christmas Cookies she makes. She bakes a lot of them so we can give some to our family and friends. Here's the recipe, I hope you will like them as much as we do!

 

  Ingredients:
400g flour
250g butter (cut in in small dices) + a little bit more to grease the baking tray
200g sugar

2 eggs
3 egg yolk
150g almond powder

2 tea spoons cinnamon powder

Some vanilla extract

  

Mix the butter and the sugar together until the mixture slightly whitens (the butter should'nt be to cold or it will be more difficult). While you mix, add the almonds, the two eggs and the flour little by little. My sister likes to sift the flour so the dough won't be lumpy. Don't stop on mixing! Then, add the cinnamon powder and mix. At some point, the dough will get so thick you will have to use your hands. (Thats when the fun starts!)

 

Make a ball out of the dough, and then make what my sister and I call a "volcano" (a hole in the middle of the dough) and put some drop of vanilla extract in it. Knead the dough once again so the extract is completly absorbed in it and wrap it into cling film.

Let it rest for at least 3 hours in the fridge. The best is to leave it over night.

Then , preheat your oven  at 180°C / 356°F / themostat 6. Get the dough out and roll it out. Cut the cookies with some cookie cutters in the shape you want (ours were "Christmas" cookie cutters). 

Grease the tray and put your cookies on it. Brush your cookies with the egg yolks (beat them first). My sister used a fork cause we don't have any cooking brush.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, the cookies should come out golden.

ENJOY!! :D

(I was so happy when the cookie came out that I eat them all and forgot to take a pic, so you will have to make them to find out how they look when they're baked! :D)

Broccoli Soup

By Za, 

For those of you who wonder about the kinds of food that are high in vitamin C, contain multiple nutrients which are effectively a strong preventive from cancer, regulate blood pressure thanks to the high amount of calcium, magnesium and vitamin K - which helps keep the bones healthy and prevent from osteoporosis-. 
This preventive food is also good against gastric problems and bacterium, such as the H.Pylori; heart disease and  Anemia. 
This natural source of vitamin A, Beta carotene, fibers,  Antioxidants and zinc is extremely beneficial for eyesight, skin, digestive problems (prevents constipation) and regulating blood sugar. 


This soup is easy peasy, here we go: 

Ingredients 

• 3 medium potatoes 
• 1 medium onion 
• A head of broccoli
• 1 glass of milk. 
• Water
• Parsley
• Salt
• Cheese (hard cheese of your liking. I went for red cheese this time) 

Method: 


Peel and dice the potatoes, and the onion, before you bring them to a boil. (salt) 
Cut the broccoli florets and steam them for like 3 to 5 mins. 


Once everything is cooked, blend your veggies and add milk bit by bit until you get a thick mixture. Add water thoroughly, little by little, until you get the lump-less consistency you like. I like my soup to be thick and 'velouté'. 
Chop parsley ( a small bunch) and add it to the soup. (salt) 
Dice the cheese (or grate it if you prefer)  

Serving: 


This soup goes very well with toasted bread or garlic bread. 

Toasted bread shredded
and mixed in soup

Bsahatkom - Enjoy - Bon appetit 

'

Baghreer (Algerian Crepes)

By Za, 

1 baghreer cooking- Almost done. 

I dedicate this recipe to one of my sisters. 


Baghreer are Algerian traditional crepes. They are healthy, tasty and easy to make. 
Unlike normal crepes which are plain, Baghreer are characterised by the huge funny number of holes that pop up on the surface during the cooking. 
If the holes are big and numerous, then consider your baghreer to be a success. (see picture above). 
The baghreer only needs to be cooked on one side, no need to flip it over. 


The ingredients and measures I used were the following: 

• Fine semolina (medium will also do): 1 British mug. 
• Flour: 1 British mug. 
• Yeast: 1 tbsp. 
• baking powder: 1 tbsp
• Milk: 1 british mug. 
• Water: 1 British mug. if the batter is too thick, add more water to obtain a consistency and a texture similar to the one of normal crepes - slightly thicker than liquid) 
• 1 egg. 
• A pinch of salt.

The method: 

Mix the semolina and flour in a big bowl. 
Add yeast and baking powder 
Pour milk and water in small quantities, at a time, while you mix continuously until all lumps melt. I usually use a blender at the end to make sure no lumps stay roaming about (for the peace of mind hehe) 
Let the batter rest 15 to 30mins. 

The final result

Preheat a non-stick frying pan. (= between medium and high) 
before I start ladling the thick liquid onto the pan, I add 1 tbsp of oil to the baghreer to help it not stick to the pan, then I add salt. (you can grease the pan otherwise) 

Ladle the first portion of the batter onto the pan and spread it around by tilting the pan in a circular motion to allow the batter to spread, evenly, covering the base of the pan. 
PS: Do not flip over. Just wait for a few seconds for it to cook. check the bottom side. It should have a very light red-ish / brown-ish color and the surface has to be entirely covered with holes. 

This is the back of a baghreer! Not sayin who took that bite! 

Remove the baghreer, put in a flat plat spread on it some butter (just a tiny bit of butter at the tip of a knife) I'll melt on the holes making them look shiny golden and smooth. Then cover it with a bag/another plat or foil wrap. Repeat the same process with every ladle until you've done all the batter.






The serving: 

Olive oil & sugar 

On a plate, pour some olive oil (1 tbsp). Then lay 1 baghreer upside down on it! (the holed surface on oil. Wipe the oil with the upside down baghreer (in circular motion) for all the holes to be covered in oil. Then, turn it back on the other red-cooked side and sprinkle some sugar on the holes. roll and eat
PS: Baghreer is eaten with olive oil and sugar in the region where I come from. Many Algerians from different regions eat it with different things, for example, instead of olive oil, you can eat with with sugar only, or 'Sharbaat' - a home-made syrup we have made of orange floral water + butter + sugar and other stuff- (I'll post a recipe someday). Or even plain with salted butter. 




Bsahatkom - Enjoy - Bon appetit. 






Demo clip of a cooking Baghreer - dance dance little holes - hehe 

PS: I should have waited for it too cook properly before lifting the edge. It was a bit ruined, but well, the point was to show the color of the cooking base. 

Grantita!!

By Za, 

Oh my GOSH! this is like, one of the BEST Algerian dishes I've ever had! and I still haven't met a single Algerian person who doesn't like it! (PS: it's only famous in the North, i.e. Algiers, so not many people from other regions would know about it) it's easy peasy to make. So, give it a try when you feel like going adventurous in you kitchen! <:-D 

Recipe coming up soon! xxx 

Algerian Mhajeb

By Za,

Recipe come up soon! 

(they are a bit of a project -far from being easy peasy) 

Kbab from Algiers

By Za, 

Recipe's on the way

Sfiriya

By Za, 

  This is a "food recycling" traditional Algerian dish that's made basically from stale bread. 

When you have lots of leftover bread which's gone stale, here's a suggestion to recycle it into a very delicious dish. Kids love too. My brother used to call it 'Khoffash' - Bats. They enjoy eating the crispy bread "cookies" dry. It's very tasty and healthy for them (esp. if you're using brown/whole meal bread like I did today) 

So, here we go: 

Ingredients: 

For Sfiriya: (bread cookies) 

• A big bowl of shredded stale bread (white or brown) 
• A British mug of Milk
• Soft cheese (i.e la vache qui rit, or any soft cheese of your liking) 
• 1/2 tea spoon of cinnamon
• 1 tbsp of Orange flower water. 
• 1 egg. 

The sauce and meat: 

• Minced meat
• 1 Onion 
• 4 Garlic cloves 
• spices of your liking. (I like cumin, cinnamon and mix spices) 
• 1 egg 
• 2 tbsp of breadcrumbs. 
• Chopped coriander 
• Salt and water 
• (Lemon = optional) 

Method - Preparation: 

                 For the Sfiriya (bread fried cookies): 

Shred the stale bread in a big bowl and add warm milk gradually while kneading and mixing with your hand. 

Mixed it and knead it untill all lumps soften and melt. You should have a lump-less paste. 

PS: if the paste is too runny, add a few table spoons of bread crumbs until it gets an assembled viscous consistency.

Shred the stale bread in a big bowl and add warm milk gradually while kneading and mixing with your hand. 

Mixed it and knead it untill all lumps soften and melt. You should have a lump-less paste. 

PS: if the paste is too runny, add a few table spoons of bread crumbs until it gets an assembled viscous consistency.

Make medium sized balls from the paste and flatten them with your fingers gently to form a cookie-like round shape. (use water or oil in your hands if the past if too sticky) 

Fry the bread cookies until they gain a mahogany-golden-brown-ish color. (see picture).

remove, sieve and let the Sfiriya rest aside while you get to your sauce. 

              The meatballs: 

Grab the minced meat and add salt, a grated small onion + 2 cloves of garlic + 1 egg + spices + chopped coriander + 1 tea spoon of olive oil. and mixed everything untill you get this (see picture).

Wet your hands with water, (it helps meat not stick to them when you're rolling the paste in your hand to form a small ball). 

I decided to have a different shape today for a change. So, I opted for the oval one. ( see picture) 

                For the sauce: 

Grate or chop the onion and garlic before you chuck them to stir fry in a pot. (2 to 3 table spoons of oil) 

Once onion+garlic are soft add spices of your liking for a white sauce. (I add cinnamon and a teeny bit of cumin + some mixed herbs and spices) and stir well. 

pour in 2 to 3 glasses of water and bring it to a boil before you start chucking the meat balls in the sauce. 

Add chopped coriander (that's the cherry on the cake) 

Add the chick peas (They shouldn't be dry! if you get them dry, let them stay dipped in water over night. They'll double in size) 

let cook between 20 to 40 mins. ( if you're using a pressure pot then you might only needs about 15mins of cooking time). 

Serving: 

In a plate, put the number of bread crisps you'd like to have and pour the sauce (+meatballs) over them. Drizzle some lemon juice for a better taste. ( but that's optional)

et voila! 

Bsahatkom - Enjoy - Bon appetit.