Flafla: An Algerian-Inspired Caponata of Sorts #EattheWorld

This month the Eat the World bloggers are traveling by tabletop to Armenia. Read more about the Eat the World project here.

This month the Eat the World crew if looking at recipes from Algeria. When I did my cooking around the world project when the boys were small, we learned...that the cuisine of Algeria is a mix of various influences - from Berber to Arabic to French to Jewish. Most cooking is centered around long-simmered meats and stews that are served with couscous. Meals often end with dried and fresh fruits. The range of ingredients is essentially Mediterranean, including lamb, chicken, tomatoes, olives, peppers, eggplant, lentils, oranges and lemons.

Here's what everyone else shared...

• Algerian Chicken by A Day in the Life on the Farm

• Algerian Mlayum- Couscous With Eggs by Sneha's Recipe

• Flafla by Culinary Cam (you're here)

• Khobz El Koucha (Algerian Bread) by Amy's Cooking Adventures

Previous Algerian Dishes

When I was considering what to make I looked back at our tabletop travel to Algeria v. 2012, I remembered our Tajine el Khoukh (Algerian Stuffed Peaches), Algerian-Spiced Carrots, and Fragrant Algerian Couscous. Forgive the atrocious photos - dimly lit and on dark plates - but I was new to blogging! I might have to re-do all of these recipes eventually because they really were tasty; they just look dated and unappealing now.

Flafla, Cam-Style

I looked at the list of what everyone else was making and opted for an Algerian-inspired veggie side dish. I came across a mention of 'flafla' with some photos, but no recipe that I could find. In fact, when I went back to search with that name, I kept coming up with a German tobacco company. Nope!

That's why it's 'Alergian-inspired'; this is definitely not a traditional recipe. This is my approximation from photos - of an Algerian pepper salad - and a similar looking dish that I encountered all across Italy, caponata, but without the eggplant and the zucchini. Though, instead of a long braise, I roasted the veggies in the oven and chopped them up at the end.

Ingredients

• 3 to 4 Spring onions, trimmed and diced

• 3 to 4 tomatoes, roughly chopped

• 4 to 5 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

• 6 to 7 sweet peppers, halved

• olive oil as needed

• 1 Tablespoon Tabil*

• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika

• salt and pepper, to taste

• Also needed: baking sheet, parchment paper, 1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed citrus juice for serving (I used Bearrs lime)

*Tabil

This is a spice blend that is common throughout Tunisia and Algeria. I mixed up a small jar and used some in this recipe.

• 3 Tablespoons coriander seeds

• 1 Tablespoon caraway seeds

• 1 Tablespoon cumin seeds

• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Toast all of the seeds in a dry skillet, keep tossing and stirring to make sure they don't burn. But they should be fragrant. Let cool and blitz in a coffee grinder or crush with a mortar and pestle. Stir in the pepper flakes and store in a clean, dry jar until ready to use.

Procedure

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place the onions, tomatoes, and garlic together in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle with the Tabil and drizzle with olive oil. You want the tomatoes coated with oil and glistening. Turn the veggies out onto the prepared sheet. Nestle the pepper into the veggies. Give the pan one more drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Roast the veggies in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. The veggies should be softened with some charring.

Let look slightly, then turn the mixture out onto a cutting board and roughly chop so that everything is bite-sized. Drizzle the citrus juice over the top and stir to combine. Place everything in a serving bowl and drizzle with more olive oil, if desired.

Because I served this on an evening when Jake wasn't home, R and I enjoyed the flafla slathered on fully glutinous baguettes from a local bakery along with Fettucine alle Vongole. Yum!

And that's a wrap on my Algerian offering for this month's Eat the World. The group will be back next month with Amy of Amy's Cooking Adventures hosting us to explore Andorra. Stay tuned!