Round of 16, Day 3 - Algeria - World Cup Eating Challenge

I knew Monday was going to be a fun day for this challenge. I had two unfamiliar countries to choose from - Nigeria and Algeria. Nigerian food had looked pretty similar to Cameroon so I decided to go with Algeria. I knew this one wasn't going to be full on paleo / gluten free but there were still some Mediterranean flavors that I enjoy and I was looking forward to it.

My search for Algerian food brought me repeatedly to Chicken Tagine. I browsed through different recipe variations and this one seemed to be the most straight forward to me. I started my chicken cooking while I finished my workout because multi tasking is awesome and I knew it woul dhave to simmer for a while. 

Next up was couscous - another item that came up all the time for Algerian food. My mom actually used to make couscous for breakfast quite often so I was familiar with it although I'd never made it myself. She used to steam it but the version I had said it could be made by adding it to boiling water. I assumed it would be a lot like rice or quinoa that take a while to cook and absorb the water so I put it in when I assumed there was 15 minutes left to my chicken and went back to my ab routine. I came to check on it about 5 minutes later and it was completely ready and all the water was soaked up. I was so shocked. I had no idea couscous was so quick and easy!

I saw olives a lot in the chicken tagine recipes but I was wary about cooking them. I love mild olives though and I figured I could just enjoy them raw as a nice addition to my meal. 

Here's where things get a little shaky... I didn't actually see hummus or lavash bread in any of my searches for Algerian food. I just thought of the flavor profiles and the Mediterranean location and thought it was probably likely that they ate it. I really love both of these very not paleo items and I thought it would be a fun chance to cheat with items that aren't really that bad for you. 

Since I was at Whole Foods anyways, I decided to pick up a bunch of craft ciders. They definitely aren't Algerian but cider is delicious and it worked anyways. I think going with wine would have been more accurate but oh well. 

The whole dish was really delicious. I love combining everything - hummus, couscous, chicken - onto the lavash bread and eating it all at once. I'm definitely one of those people that loves mixing together my plate of food and this was just so good. The portion that came from all of it was really substantial too. It all came out to be about 4-5 servings so I've gotten to enjoy the leftovers a few times now which is awesome for me.