Algeria: Algerian Beef and Veggie Soup & Algerian Charlotte (Dessert)

This past Sunday I made Algerian food! I was excited to try these recipes. For our entree I picked Algerian soup. It was delicious and had an exciting combination of flavors such as mint and tomato paste. For the dessert I made Charlotte cake. It is suppose to be similar to the French Charlotte Cake. If you read my previous posts you know that I'm not very good at making cakes haha, so this was interesting!

Algerian Beef & Veggie Soup:

Serves: 8-10

1/2 Cup Olive Oil
1 - 1.5 lbs Beef
1 Large Onion
1 Large Potato
1 Large Zucchini
1 can (aprox. 15 ounces) Chickpeas
Salt & Pepper to Taste
- My FAV: Eden Foods Sea Salt -- 14 oz
3 Tbsp. Dried Mint or a handful of fresh mint leaves
6 Cups Boiling Water
1/2 cup Egg Noodles, broken (I used more than 1/2 cup)
- TRY: Organic Pappardelle Egg Pasta, 8.8 Oz 2Pk
1 Can of Tomato Paste
1/2 Cup of Peas

To prepare chop onion, potato and zucchini. Brown meat in pan with oil. Transfer the meat to a large pot. Add rest of oil, onion, zucchini, potato, chickpeas, salt, pepper, mint, and water to pot. Bring to a boil then lower to a simmer for 30 minutes (covered). Then add the egg noodles and peas, and cook for another 5-7 minutes uncovered. Stir in the tomato paste, simmer for another 5 minutes and then serve hot. Enjoy!!

Algerian Charlotte

Serves 8

1 Cup Dates
- TRY: United With Earth Organic Medjool Dates, 16-Ounce Containers (Pack of 4)
Juice of 1 Orange
1 1/2 Cup Water
3 Tbsp Honey
1 Tbsp Gelatin
2 Cups Heavy Cream
1/2 Cup Almonds, Sliced
2 Chopped Dates
2 Tbsp. Almonds, Sliced
1/2 Grated Orange

Remove pits from dates. Cut them into quarters. Squeeze the juice from the orange. Put the orange juice into a saucepan with water and honey. Add the gelatin. When it dissolves, add in the quartered dates and stir. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cover for 30 minutes. Then let mixture cool. once it is cool, strain and keep the liquid (I kept some of the left over mixture and added it into the final product - it was my favorite part of the dish). 

Whip the cream until it stands in peaks. Add the almonds into the cream, along with the date liquid. Stir and then spoon into a dish. Decorate with the leftover dates, almonds, and grated orange. Chill in refrigerator at least 2 hours before serving.

**As you can tell from the picture, it doesn't look like a typical cake, but I followed instructions and this is what I got - more of a ice cream pudding, but it was very yummy!!