Algeria - Chorba Frik

Salam, Everybody!

Thanks for coming back for more soup! Today we are in Algeria! Algeria is a country on the

Algeria in the World

Northern coast of Africa, bordering Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Niger, Mali, Mauritania and the Mediterranean Sea. Algeria is the largest country of its continent, the Arab world and the Mediterranean Basin and a whopping 99% of it's population identifies as Muslim! In fact, our soup today is a testament to that; Chorba Frik is a vegetarian soup that, while consumed year-round, is eaten nearly every day during the Islamic Holy Month of Ramadan in many households. In a nutshell, Ramadan is celebrated by Muslims every summer as a month of fasting, where observers world-wide abstain from food, drink, sex and smoking from sun up to sun down.

Albania - Gjelle Me Mish dhe Patata

Albania

Tjeta!

So it had been a few days and I was still scouring the internet for an authentic Albanian soup recipe. Albanian cuisine, like that of Afghanistan, has yet to fill the bistros and cafes of Ventura Blvd. In fact, even Yelp had betrayed me - bringing up exactly zero Albanian Restaurants for reference in a search spanning 7 major counties in Southern California from way down south in San Diego all the way up to Santa Barbara! It was kind of mind-boggling to me! Living in Los Angeles, you get used to there being every culture known to man right out your front doorstep! There are believed to be an incredible 224 different identified languages spoken in our city, not including differing dialects! ¹ Yet, with all of that not a single Albanian restaurant in the Greater Los Angeles area. Wow.
Even on the Googles, finding an Albanian Soup Recipe in English is proving to be a difficult task! I am getting flashbacks from Taken, where the Albanian kidnappers challenge Liam Neeson's kickass threats with a gruff and thickly accented "Good Luck."

Afghanistan - Shorwa-E-Gosht

Afghanistan

Salaam Aalaikum!

And welcome to the inaugural post of Soup Adventurer, where I hope to explore the remarkably awe-inspiring cultures of our world, one bowl at a time!

But why soup? Well the easy answer to that is that in all its versatility and possibilities, soup is one of my all0time favorite food groups. Yes, It is a food group in my world! It is not uncommon to plan Soup Dates with my girlfriends, or guy friends, or acquaintances, or really anybody that will tolerate this fascination of mine. And for somebody like me, a former Washingtonian trapped in terribly sunny and bright Los Angeles, soup means cozying up on the couch with a blanket, the fireplace and a rainstorm outside – an occurrence that happens not nearly as often as ideal in this land of supposedly perfect weather.

But digging deeper, there is something about soup that, to me, is culturally expansive.