FIVE ESSENTIAL ALGERIAN INGREDIENTS

Semolina

‘Algerians fry things in semolina, use it in bread, couscous or bourek pastry – the way it breaks in your mouth is incredible. To make the Berber bread, kesra, a semolina, water and olive oil paste is flattened and cooked on a clay dish over fire – it’s the best you’ll ever eat. We have it with long, sweet, hot Algerian peppers and peeled tomatoes, charred and mashed with olive oil.’

Dersa

‘Not many people outside Algeria have heard of dersa (see recipe above). It’s used as a harissa-like marinade for meat, and as a flavouring base for tagines, the potato stew chtitha batata or loubia b’dersa (bean stew).’

Lamb

‘From whole spit-roast mechoui lamb at weddings to stews, lamb plays a big part. Merguez sausage baguettes are a staple Algerian street food so, when I opened, I wanted to bring that to Los Moros. In my merguez, I use Yorkshire lamb, a lot of love and seven spices, herbs, garlic. No-one knows the recipe!’

Olive oil

‘In my dad’s village in the Berber mountain region of Kabylia, every family had olive and fig trees. We use olive oil for everything: cooking, dressings, to cool hot dishes and if you have earache, too.’

Striped red mullet

‘The seafood in Algeria is amazing. When I go back, I eat it every lunchtime: small sardines with bones so soft you can eat them whole, or red prawns my mum used to cook in tomato sauce with rice. The small red mullets that hang around the rocks – the French name is rouget de roche – are beautiful pan-fried.’