2010 FIFA World Cup: Meal 2, England v Algeria

It was England v. Algeria on friday so I dug out my North African recipes for a tapas style feast.

Mint tea

First up was some mint tea. Technically, this is Moroccan but I like the idea of sharing and receiving a welcome cup of hospitality mint tea. The tea itself was delicious. Give it a try even if you aren't normally keen on herbal teas, you may be surprised! To make, I used 1 normal teabag, 6 sprigs of mint (leaves left on stalks) and 6 spoons of sugar in a 6 cup teapot. Leave to steep for 3-4 mins and serve.

Matisha mhassela (Sweet tomato puree)

Smells too sweet at first but worth a try, goes well with grilled meat and fish.

Roast 6-8 large tomatoes, keep only the flesh and dice. Add flesh to a saucepan and simmer for 20 mins with 2 tbsp honey, 1tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp ginger. Season and sprinkle with sesame seeds to serve.

Bissara (Garlic broad beans)

Thin it with stock and it makes a nice soup.

Put 350g dried broad beans soaked and skinned into a pan with 4 whole garlic cloves and 2tsp cumin seeds. Add water until just covered and bring to boil then simmer for 1 hour until beans are tender. Puree the beans until smooth and season. Serve sprinkled with paprika.

Slada hummas (Chickpea salad)

This was really simple yet packed with taste and would make a nice lunch.

Simmer 225g pre-soaked chickpeas for 45 mins until tender. Toss the chickpeas with 1 sliced red onion, 4 finely chopped garlic cloves, 1 tsp cumin, 1tsp paprika, juice of 1 lemon, 3tbsp olive oil and a small bunch each of parsley and coriander chopped. Serve with goats cheese crumbled over the top.

Langoustines piquantes (pan fried prawns)

I love this recipe, which is significant because I'm not a fan of prawns.

In olive oil fry 2-3 chopped garlic cloves, a small piece chopped fresh ginger, 1 fresh chilli chopped and 1tsp cumin seeds. When the spices are heating through and give off a nice aroma add 500g raw prawns. Cook until prawns are done then add 1tsp paprika and season. Stir through some chopped coriander and serve.

Djaj bil harissa (grilled harissa chicken)
A really nice dish for those who don't like to jump into a new cuisine with both feet!

Marinate 8-12 chicken legs in the harissa paste then grill on a barbecue.

Harissa

Soak 8 dried red chillies (horn or new mexico) in warm water for 1 hour. Drain and pound to a paste with 2-3 garlic cloves and 1/2 tsp salt. Mix in 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp ground coriander and 4 tbsp olive oil.

All of the above was served with cous cous, made to pack instructions and some rustic bread.

Dessert

M'hanncha (snake pastry with almond filling)

Mix the following ingredients together to make a stiff paste: 350g ground almonds, 225g caster sugar, 50g icing sugar, 1tbsp cinnamon, 2-3 tbsp orange flower water. Roll into sausages roughly 1.5cm x 8cm and chill these for 30 mins. Once chilled, lay the sausages along the long edge of a sheet of filo pastry. Brush the pastry with melted butter and roll up. Repeat this until all the sausages are used up. On a greased baking sheet, curve up the rolls into a coil. Bake for 30 mins at 180 C until golden brown. Dust with icing sugar and cinnamon to serve.

We dunked our snakes in Almond milk!

Hlib b'louz (almond milk)

Pound 250g blanched almonds with 75g sugar to a paste adding water if needed. Put 600ml water and 75g sugar into a saucepan and bring to boil until sugar has dissolved. Stir in the paste and simmer for 5 mins. Add 1-2 tbsp orange flower water. Once cool strain through muslin, squeezing to get all the water out. Leave to cool and serve chilled with ice.

All the food was gorgeous and I got loads of compliments! In fact, when I couldn't find a camera to get a snap of the meal everyone jumped up to offer their phones and find a camera!