Algerian Soup
SHORBA BAIDA
(Chicken Soup)
INGREDIENTS
2 chicken breasts
1 medium onion
2 inch cinnamon stick
2 large tomatoes
10 ounce can chick peas
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon basmati rice
1 tablespoon barley
2 large tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon coriander
1/2 tablespoon parsley flakes
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
SPECIAL UTENSIL
spice grinder
Dutch oven
PREPARATION
Cut chicken breasts into 1/2″ cubes. Mince the onion. Grind the cinnamon stick until you get powder. Dice the tomatoes. Drain the chick peas.
Use medium-high heat to sauté the chicken, onion, and cinnamon with olive oil in Dutch oven. Cook for 5-to-10 minutes or until onion softens. Stir frequently.
Add chick peas, chicken broth, lemon juice, rice, barley, tomatoes, chili powder, parsley, pepper, sat, and tumeric. Cover the Dutch oven and simmer on warm heat for about 1 hour or until rice and barley are soft.
This is great. People love it. Eat your share while you can.
TIDBITS
1) This heavenly soup is the reason the French conquered Algeria in 1830.
2) This heavenly soup is the reason Algeria threw out France in 1962. The Algerians didn’t want to share.
3) Did the Algerians get any culinary benefits from 132 years of Gallic occupation?
4) I hope so. A Vietnamese man once said the only benefit his countrymen derived from French colonial rule was the baguette.
5) Vietnamese culinary artists combined the baguettes with their way of preparing meat to produce the tasty and world-famous banh mi sandwiches.
6) America fought in Vietnam for the banh mi sandwiches. And so it goes.
– Paul De Lancey, The Comic Chef
My cookbook, Following Good Food Around the World, with its 180 wonderful recipes, my newest novel, Do Lutheran Hunks Eat Mushrooms, a hilarious apocalyptic thriller, and all my other books, are available on amazon.com.
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