Algeria: Street Food Bite and Booze of the 2014 World Cup

The spotlight of today's street food guide to the FIFA World Cup 2014, Algeria (playing Belgium at 11am CDT), has a cuisine riddled with savory spices, meats, and seasonal availabilities. With its top border touching the Mediterranean Sea, Algeria also houses much of the Sahara Desert. It is a place where the cuisine is as diverse as its inhabitants and ecosystems. While there isn't much street food, there's a little something called Mhadjeb that is usually sold out by the peak of the lunch hour. Good drinks are hard to find in Algeria, but I did stumble across an Algerian cocktail recipe that will more than suffice for the game ahead.

Photo Credit: yanncook.com

Mhadjeb, from what I've read is like a soft, flattened egg roll. Naan-like bread wraps around a filling of sautéed onions, tomatoes and spices. The caramelized onions and tomatoes make for a savory sweetness, while some chili paste and other spices brighten up the palate and give the dish character. It can be held with one hand which is perfect for watching the match and holding a fog horn in the other hand.

Photo Credit: Big World Small Kitchen

The Coctel Algeria features a nationally popular liquor that goes by the name Pisco. Typically served as a Pisco Sour with fluffy egg white foam, Pisco is a green grape brandy that's super smooth. Combined with orange liqueur, apricot brandy and some fresh OJ this is the perfect thing to sip after being out in the sun all day...or watching futbol on your couch.

Pluckers Wing Bar Baton Rouge (USA v Algeria Donovan Goal)

Can you spot me?? USA! USA! USA!

Algeria - The 2010 FIFA World Cup Bites and Boozes

Algeria

Algeria is yet another African team in this year's World Cup. The Muslim nation on north coast of Africa borders many countries, the Mediterranean Sea, and contains a significant portion of the Sahara Desert. By land mass, Algeria is the 11th largest country in the world, and they have a population of 35.7 million. Today they square off against the U. S. of A. in a match where the winner has a chance of advancing and loser is guaranteed to go home. This is what the World Cup is all about. Pull those belts tight boys, it's time to rumble! Today Bite and Booze eats the Algerians!

Couscous, the national dish, is often mistaken as a grain itself, rather than pasta. The pasta dough is a mixture of water and coarse, grainy semolina wheat particles. The dough is then crumbled through a sieve to create tiny pellets. Algerians prefer lamb, chicken, or fish to be placed on a bed of warm couscous, along with cooked vegetables such as carrots, chickpeas, and tomatoes, and spicy stews. In Algeria it is also served, sometimes at the end of a meal or just by itself, as a delicacy called "seffa". The couscous is usually steamed several times until it is very fluffy and pale in color. It is then sprinkled with almonds, cinnamon and sugar. Traditionally, this dessert will be served with milk perfumed with orange flower water, or it can be served plain with buttermilk in a bowl as a cold light soup for supper.

Mechoui , a roasted whole lamb cooked on an outdoor spit, is usually prepared when a large group of people gathers together. The animal is seasoned with herb butter so the skin is crispy and the meat inside is tender and juicy. Bread and various dried fruits and vegetables, including dates (whose trees can thrive in the country's Sahara desert), often accompany mechoui. There really is nothing quite like eating whole spit-roasted animals. I wish it more customary in the United States than it is. Maybe I can start a trend!

Being a rather strict Muslim nation, Algeria is not home to an abundant drinking culture. Still, there is no mistaking the Algerian impact on wine. While not a significant force on the world's wine market today, Algeria has played an important role in the history of wine. Algeria's viticulturalhistory dates back to its settlement by the Phoenicians and continued under Algeria's rule by
the Roman empire. Just prior to the Algerian War of Independence, Algerian wine (along with the production of Morocco and Tunisia) accounted for nearly two-thirds of the total international wine trade. With as much land under vine as the countries of Germany and South Africa, Algeria continues to maintain a wine industry with over 70 wineries in operation. During the peak of Algerian wine production, the main grapes of the region was Carignan, Cinsaut and Alicante Bouschet. Despite not having Pinot noir or otherwise resembling Burgundian wine, blends of these grapes were often labeled as burgundy. In recent times, Clairette and Ugni blanc have become the dominate grape varieties with some smaller plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Mouvedre and Syrah. Algerian wines are characterized by their overripe fruit, high alcohol and lowacidity. The grapes often go through a short fermentation process and are bottled after little to no oak aging.

For info about Algerian Beer, visit the BR Beer Scene.

Thanks and Credits:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3068/2310576464_48a269fd2e.jpg
http://www.foodbycountry.com/Algeria-to-France/Algeria.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Couscous
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algerian_wine
http://www.algeria-us.org/econcom/SAMPLES%20OF%20FAMOUS%20ALGERIAN%20WINESFRONTPAGE.htm