Yemma Aouïcha – Eggplant with Chickpeas

Traditionally made with dried chickpeas soaked overnight and a spice paste called derssa, Yemma Aouïcha is a tasty classic dish from Algeria. It's so good!

I must confess that not only have I not been to Algeria, I had never heard of this dish before I started my search for recipes that begin with the letter Y. But as soon as I saw the dish name on one list, I began to look for more information about it and the mysterious spice paste derssa (or dersa or even dersah) that seemed integral and yet a little different in each recipe. 

These are the sorts of rabbit holes I adore when I am researching a recipe. I learn so much about other countries and cultures. For one, it seems that many Algerian recipes have chickpeas in them. Families almost always have a small bowl soaking overnight so that they can be used the next day. 

Derssa, however you spell it, is essential in many of the dishes and while some ingredients change, adding caraway and paprika, for instance, they all contain garlic, cumin, some form of red pepper and olive oil. 

Yemma means mother in the Algerian language and Aouïcha is the variation of the name Aïcha, which means “she who lives” or “alive and well.” 

When I started making the derssa with the amount of ingredients listed below, I realized that my little food processor couldn’t process such a small amount smoothly so I ended up doubling the recipe and using only half – about 4 1/2 tablespoons or 60g - in the Yemma Aouïcha. If you have to do the same, use leftovers as you would harissa. Or make this dish again! That is my plan.

Yemma Aouïcha – Eggplant with Chickpeas

NOTE: Start 8-12 hours ahead by soaking the chickpeas! Or you can substitute canned chickpeas. I measured mine after cooking so I am confident telling you to use 1 cup or 150g and rinse well. I give the approximate weight of my eggplant below but a little more or a little less won’t make any difference. 

Ingredients

For the derssa:

4 cloves garlic

1 red chili pepper

1 teaspoon cumin powder

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

For the Yemma Aouïcha:

1/3 cup or 66g dried chickpeas (or see note above the ingredient list)

2 large eggplant, approx. weight 2 lbs or 796g

1/4 cup or 60ml canola or other light oil

3/4 cup or 150g rice (I used extra-long grain Basmati)

3 cups or 720ml vegetable or chicken stock

small bunch cilantro, hard stems removed, chopped roughly, plus extra to garnish

1 lemon, cut in wedges to serve

Method

Soak your chickpeas in plenty of cool water for at least 8 hours, or overnight.

Make the derssa by combining all of the ingredients in a small food processor. 

This is one recipe's worth. I actually doubled it, as mentioned above.

Blend till smooth. You can use a mortar and pestle as well. Refrigerate until ready to use. 

When you are ready to cook, wash and rinse the soaked chickpeas. Boil the chickpeas in fresh water for about 10 minutes then drain them in a colander. They should be half cooked and will finish cooking later. 

Cut the eggplant into small cubes.

In a large nonstick pan add a little of the oil and fry the eggplant in batches till they are golden brown, for about 10 minutes. 

Put the browned eggplant in a large bowl and fry the next batch until they are all golden.

Remove the hard stems from the cilantro and chop the tender stems and leaves. 

In a large pot, combine the chickpeas, eggplant and the derssa with 3 tablespoons canola oil.

Mix all the ingredients together. Pour in the rice and the chopped cilantro.

Cover with the stock, bring to a low boil and then simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.

 

Check it and if some of the rice is still hard, add a little water and simmer for another 5 minutes or until the rice is cooked.

Remove from the heat and leave covered until ready to serve. 

Serve warm, drizzled with a little bit of lemon juice and garnish with a little chopped cilantro and a lemon wedge. And since I made double the derssa, I added a little more of that on top. 

Enjoy! 

Welcome to the 25th edition of the 2024 Alphabet Challenge, brought to you by the letter Y. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the Y recipes below:

• Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Gingerbread Cinnamon Rolls 
• Food Lust People Love: Yemma Aouïcha – Eggplant with Chickpeas 
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Japanese Milk Bread with Yudane (Shokupan) 
• Culinary Cam: Garlicky Yogurt Topped with Çılbır, Turkish Poached Eggs 
• Blogghetti: Fresh Fruit Yogurt Parfaits 
• Sneha’s Recipe: Kiwi Yogurt Whip 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Tzatziki 
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Thandai Baked Yogurt 
• A Messy Kitchen: Yuzu Pie 
• Magical Ingredients: Yuca Paratha 
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Jalapeño Yellow Cornmeal Brown Sugar Cookies

Here are my posts for the alphabet challenge, thus far:
A: Anchovy Deviled Eggs
B: Spicy Braised Ginger Pork Belly
C: Cecilie's Favorite Coleslaw
D: Cajun Chicken Eggplant Dressing
E: Everything Pizza Tartin
F: Baked Chicken and Feta Meatballs
G: Grape Juice Jigglers
H: Crispy Bacon-wrapped Chicken Hearts
I: Raspberry Rhubarb Ice Cream
J: Java Dry Spice Mix Chops 

K. Korean Barbecue-style Meatballs 

L. Easy Lamb and Fresh Tomato Curry 

M. Fresh Mint Sauce 

N. Miso Butter Noodles 

O. Spicy Orange Braised Short Ribs 

P. Homemade Piri Piri Sauce 

Q, Cointreau Glazed Orange Quick Bread 

R. Leek and Lobster Mushroom Risotto 

S. Cheesy Sausage and Egg Casserole 

T. Stuffed Turkey Cutlets 

U. Spicy Urad Dal -

V. Spicy Vinegar Braised Chicken 

W. Honey Walnut Brittle 

X. Xmas Eggnog Fudge 

Y. Yemma Aouïcha – Eggplant with Chickpeas - this post!

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Za’atar Chickpea Crackers

These crunchy za’atar chickpea crackers are the perfect little scoops for hummus and dip. They are naturally gluten free too!

Living in the Middle East, first in Abu Dhabi then, almost 25 years later, in Dubai, I fell in love with za’atar. The word means thyme in Arabic and refers both to the plant native to the region and the spice mixture that is made with it. 

Any Middle Eastern cook will tell you that their family makes the best za’atar, as they all have their own recipe. Along with thyme, most contain toasted sesame seeds, sumac and sometimes coriander and cumin.

I do have one caveat. Make sure your za’atar is fresh. As with most dried herbs, the spice mix loses its flavor when it gets old and sometimes the sesame seeds will turn rancid. It's best to buy it in small batches and replace at least every three months.

Zaatar Chickpea Crackers

Watch these guys like a hawk when they are in the oven. My parchment paper flipped up in the front so I didn’t notice that the ones closest to me were burning! Ugh. 

Ingredients

1 cup or 95g chickpea/besan/garbanzo flour, plus a little extra for kneading

1 tablespoon za’atar

1 teaspoon black sesame seeds

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 teaspoon ghee, melted and cooled

3-4 tablespoons water

Method

Whisk the dry ingredients together in a bowl.

Add in the melted ghee and then slowly add the water a tablespoon at a time until you can form a soft dough. I used my Danish whisk. 

Turn the dough out onto a clean surface lightly sprinkled with chickpea flour. 

Sprinkle on a little more flour and knead briefly. Roll the dough into a ball. 

Put the dough between two sheets of parchment paper and press down. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough until it is very thin. 

Leave the dough to rest while you heat the oven to 400°F or 200°C. 

Carefully peel back the top parchment paper. If the dough sticks a little, press the paper back down, rub it gently then try again. Mine really stuck at first, but as I eased it off, rubbing again occasionally, it finally came off fairly clean. 

Cut it into squares with a pizza cutter. 

Carefully pull the parchment paper with the crackers onto a baking sheet.

Bake them in the oven for about 10-12 minutes or until they are golden and crispy. As I mentioned above, keep a close eye on them! Remove from the oven and use the pressure of the pizza cutter to separate them into crackers. Ugh, burned ones in the back! 

 

Serve with hummus or your favorite dip! 

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes for crackers or recipes that use crackers. Many thanks to our host Karen of Karen’s Kitchen Stories. Check out the links below. 

• Sourdough Discard Crackers from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Keto Cheese and Chive Crackers from Cook with Renu
• Easy Inside Out Chicken Cordon Bleu from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Homemade Everything Seasoned Crackers from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Homemade Goldfish Crackers from Culinary Cam
• Parle Cheesling Bhel from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Whole Wheat Crackers from Sneha's Recipe
• Za'atar Chickpea Crackers from Food Lust People Love

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Rosemary Onion Socca - Chickpea Flatbread #BreadBakers

This rosemary onion socca aka chickpea flatbread is super easy to make and even easier to devour. The crispy edges and golden bottom are superb. This had us standing around, picking up just one more piece. And maybe just one more. All right, this really is the last one! And it's gone.

Despite living in France for three years, I had never come across socca until a couple of years ago when I was researching gluten free recipes for another edition of Bread Bakers. It sounded delightful but I didn’t have any chickpea flour (and was too lazy to go shopping) so I chose to make something else. 

It popped back into my mind when our host for this month’s Bread Baker event chose flatbreads as our theme. As you can see from the photos, bread really doesn’t get any flatter than socca! There are no leavening agents so it doesn’t rise at all. 

I checked out several recipes for this French regional bread and while all of them had varying amounts of chickpea flour, water and oil, none had baking powder so I had to conclude that this is correct. 

Rosemary Onion Socca - Chickpea Flatbread

It’s best to start ahead by several hours or even the day before you want to make this as the batter needs time to be its best. This recipe is adapted from one on New York Times Cooking. If your local grocery store doesn't carry chickpea flour, try an Asian or Indian shop where it might be labeled besan or gram flour.

Ingredients

1 cup or 118g chickpea flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup or 240ml lukewarm water

4 to 6 tablespoons olive oil

½ medium onion

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, small tender leaves or chopped bigger leaves

Method

Put the chickpea flour in a bowl; add the salt and pepper. Slowly add the lukewarm water, whisking to eliminate lumps. Whisk in 2 tablespoons olive oil. 

Cover or pour into a jar and let sit for 12 hours or overnight in the refrigerator. The batter should be about the consistency of heavy cream. I like using a clean pint jar which fits better in the refrigerator. It also makes mixing easier, as you’ll see later. 

When you are about ready to bake the socca, finely slice your onions. 

Heat two tablespoons of the olive oil in a large iron skillet and pan fry the onions until crispy, about 8-9 minutes. 

Add in most of the rosemary, reserving just a little for sprinkling on the socca before baking, and give it a quick stir. Fry for one minute. 

Remove the onions and rosemary from the pan and leave them to cool. 

Meanwhile, heat your oven to 450°f or 232°C. Once hot, add two more tablespoons of olive oil to the iron skillet and put it in the oven for about 5 minutes. 

Mix the onions and rosemary into your socca batter. (If you’ve also put your batter in a jar, this is super easy. Add them in, screw the lid on tight and give the jar a good shake.) 

Immediately pour the batter into the hot pan. Sprinkle on the reserved rosemary leaves. 

Bake for 10 -12 minutes, or until the socca is firm and the edges set.

Heat the broiler/grill and brush the top of the socca with 1 or 2 tablespoons of oil. 

Set the pan a few inches away from the heat source, and cook just long enough to brown it in spots. 

Cut the socca into wedges, and serve hot or warm.

Enjoy! 

Since it’s the second Tuesday of the month, it’s BreadBakers day! Many thanks to our host Kelly of Passion Kneaded who chose flatbreads as our theme. Check out all the links below. 

• Eggless Keto Naan from Sneha's Recipes
• Focaccia Bread Art from Passion Kneaded
• Magical Oreo Paratha from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Nan-e-Barbari from Ambrosia
• Rosemary Onion Socca - Chickpea Flatbread from Food Lust People Love
• Sourdough Pizza Bianca from Karen's Kitchen Stories

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

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Roasted Salmon with Crispy Chickpea Salsa

This roasted salmon with crispy chickpea salsa has tasty flavors from the spicy chickpeas, garlic, cilantro and garlic and a lovely mix of textures.

This dish is easy and quick to make so it’s perfect for a weeknight meal, but it’s pretty enough for a dinner party. It elevates the humble chickpea into something sort of fancy, as a topping, rather than main ingredient in a main course.

If you are a fan of chickpeas, this is your lucky day! Make sure to scroll down to the bottom to check out the other chickpea recipes my Sunday FunDay group are sharing. 

Roasted Salmon with Crispy Chickpea Salsa

This dish can be made with farmed salmon as well with the caveat that the farmed fish is thicker so it will take longer to cook. Wild salmon is best when cooked till just done (or even a little bit less since it keeps cooking even after it’s taken out of the oven.) 

Ingredients

For the salmon:

1 side wild salmon (about 1.5 lbs or 680g)

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter) melted

For the chickpeas:

1 can (14.11 oz or 400g) chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

For the salsa:

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 clove garlic, crushed then minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 cup or 35g pumpkin seeds

small bunch cilantro, about 1 3/4 oz or 50g, hard stems removed 

Method

In a nonstick skillet, lightly fry the chickpeas over a medium heat, along with the oil and seasonings, until golden and crunchy. 

Be patient with this step. If you try to rush and turn the flame too high, you risk burning the chickpeas. Shake the pan and stir occasionally. 

This could take 15-20 minutes but meanwhile you can get on with the rest of the recipe. 

Put the vinegar, garlic, olive oil and pumpkin seeds in a small processor along with 1/3 of the cilantro. Process until slightly chunky.  

Set aside a few sprigs of cilantro for garnish then lightly chop the rest.

To roast the salmon, preheat your broiler (UK Eng: grill) to its highest setting and line a baking sheet or sheet pan with aluminum foil. Pat your salmon fillet dry with a paper towel to remove excess moisture. 

Place the salmon fillet skin side down on the foil-lined sheet and season it with the fine sea salt and black pepper. Then brush it with the melted ghee. 

Pop it under the broiler and keep a close eye on it. Your salmon should be ready within 4 to 6 minutes depending on the thickness of the fillet. 

While the salmon is roasting, mix the ingredients in the food processor with the chickpeas and chopped cilantro. 

Garnish the whole salmon with the reserved cilantro.

Serve the crispy chickpea salsa spooned on top of each portion of salmon.

Enjoy!

As I mentioned above, it’s Sunday FunDay and we are sharing recipes with chickpeas. Many thanks to our host, Sneha of Sneha’s Recipe. Check out the links below: 

• Sneha’s Recipe: Air Fryer Roasted Chickpeas 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Chickpea and Farro Soup
• Mayuri's Jikoni: Chole Bhature
• Amy’s Cooking Adventures: Greek Seasoned Roasted Chickpeas
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Pearl Couscous & Chickpea Salad with Basil
• Food Lust People Love: Roasted Salmon with Crispy Chickpea Salsa
• Palatable Pastime: Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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