A thin, spicy sausage made with beef and/or lamb, merguez is seasoned with sumac and harissa (a hot red chili paste). Merguez originated in North Africa (particularly Algeria and Tunisia), and is popular in France, Belgium and Germany.
Merguez can be fried, broiled or grilled, and is often served with couscous, added to a stew or soup (as pictured) or eaten as a fast food hot dog, tucked into a baguette with French fries and slathered with harissa.
Harissa is a spicy chili paste from North Africa and the Middle East that can be found in Algeria, Libya, Tunisia and Morocco, and is popular in France.
Made with (often smoked) chili peppers, garlic, olive or caraway oil and coriander, it may also contain cumin, dried mint, verbena leaves, tomatoes or rose petals. The ingredients are pounded to a paste, which is left to develop its flavors for at least 12 hours.
Harissa is used to flavor merguez sausage; as a condiment for falafel and other dishes; as a meat rub; and diluted in broth to add spice to couscous, stews and soups. Prepared harissa is available in jars, tubes and cans; homemade harissa can be covered with olive oil and kept in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
Couscous is a coarsely ground pasta made from semolina, a type of wheat.
A staple of the North African Maghreb, couscous comes in instant and non-instant varieties.
Like macaroni and spaghetti, couscous is made from semolina flour, but rather than mixing the semolina with a prescribed amount of water and/or egg into a dough, couscous is made by rubbing the semolina between moistened hands until the flour combines with just enough water to form hundreds of tiny grains. Obviously the process takes a light touch, lest the grains combine into a gooey mass, but once learned it is one of the simplest forms of making pasta and one that is practiced in villages all around the Mediterranean basin.
After the couscous grains are formed they are dried and steamed over a stew, usually made from lamb, in a special pot called a couscoussière. Steaming couscous is an involved operation, requiring sealing the top of the couscoussière to its bottom with rags dipped in flour paste, and then interrupting the steaming several times to rub the softening couscous grains to insure that they remain separate.
Fortunately it is no longer necessary to go through all that labor, due to the broad availability of instant couscous. This product has already been steamed and then dried again before it is packaged. It needs only to be soaked in boiling water until it swells, a process that takes about 10 minutes.
Couscous doesn't have a lot of flavor on its own, but it works well as a base for vegetable or meat dishes. It also mixes beautifully into salads and can be flavored with herbs like coriander, basil or mint, or even studded with fruit like raisins or apricots. It's a very neutral -- and nutritious -- base for all sorts of dishes.
Reference: A really simple way to make couscous (Cookthink)
The term tagine (or tajine) refers to a North African stew that is slow-cooked in a theatrical-looking pot of the same name.
Typical Moroccan tagines contain meat and/or vegetables combined with dried fruits and nuts. Chicken is stewed with apricots and almonds or green olives and preserved lemons. Lamb tagine may be paired with prunes, or pigeon with raisins. Tagines aren't spicy but they contain assertive spices like cumin and cinnamon. When making a traditional tagine, meat is not browned first but is simply simmered with the other ingredients. Tagines are usually served with couscous and harissa to taste.
A traditional tagine pot is made of clay that may be glazed or painted. It consists of a round shallow base and a high cone-shaped lid. Tagines can be finished in the oven, like a stew, but are actually designed to work on a stovetop. You can also find electric stand-alone tagines with a built-in heat source.
The design of a tagine pot has both practical and aesthetic functions. The tight-fitting lid leaves plenty of room for steam to form, keeping meat and other ingredients moist while they cook. And it makes a dramatic presentation. Bring the pot to the table and watch the effect of releasing the lid and the trapped tagine aroma into the air.
If you're looking for something different to serve at your next summertime barbecue, search no more. This grilled eggplant salad is the perfect side dish. To make it, just follow the directions in this video by Handmade TV.
Phyllo dough is a delicate, thin, unleavened wheat dough that comes in sheets and is instrumental in Greek, Turkish, Middle Eastern and North African cooking.
It is made from finely ground wheat flour, water and a small amount of oil. The layers of dough are traditionally separated by a thin spread of butter or oil during baking.
Phyllo is classically used in dishes such as savory spanakopita, a Greek spinach and feta cheese pie, and super-sweet baklava.
When working with fragile phyllo dough, keep it covered with a damp kitchen towel and be sure to handle it gingerly, working quickly so that it doesn't dry out.
Like couscous, so-called Israeli couscous are small, round, pasta-like granules made from semolina and wheat flour.
While the Israeli company Osem claims to have "invented" Israeli couscous in the 1950s, it is simply a marketing term for what was known previously as North African berkukes or Palestinian matfoul and popular in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.
Unlike familiar small, yellow semolina-based North African couscous, Israeli couscous (which is sometimes called pearl couscous) is twice as big and is toasted rather than dried. This gives it a nutty flavor and a sturdy composition that gives it a chewy bite and makes it stand up to sauce.
Israeli couscous can be used in salads, soups or as a base for chicken or fish. It works well when prepared like a rice pilaf.
