The Hirshon Algerian Berkoukes Soup – بركوكس

Citizens, Algeria is home to a number of unique and delicious recipes that include this delicious soup which is beloved across the Maghreb!

Berkoukesis a traditional Berber dish, using prepared very large-grained couscous, meat and seasonal vegetables. The berkoukes grains are made from semolina durum wheat, and are rolled by hand in a large dish (traditionally wood or earth, but most commonly in nowadays metal).

The berkoukes recipe is found across North Africa, an heir to an older recipe found in a medical directory described by the medieval Arab physician and philosopher Avicenna (Ibn Razin Tujibi). A variation of this dish incorporating fenugreek, “berkoukes bi za’ter”, is in fact still used in traditional medicine to treat stunted children or infectious fever.

As noted on thetealtadjine.blogspot.com:

Berkoukes also called Aïche or M’hamessa or Abazine in some regions – is a hand-rolled semolina based pasta that is shaped like a little ball, but it is also an Algerian dish. Berboukes is the larger balls, while M’hamsa is the smaller balls. It is consumed traditionally in Algeria or the North East of Morocco during the winter and mainly in January to celebrate the wealth of the Algerian harvest of beans and dried fruit and meats. It is a dish of rich wealth, comfort and generousity.

My version of this ancient recipe is a soup as opposed to a stew – it is spicy, laden with garlic and would assuredly find favor with that most fabled of ancient physicians who first described it!

Battle on – The Generalissimo