All year long, we share our team’s favourite recipes here. A delicious way to meet the AMV members.
Photos: Inès Schildknecht
In 2026, Inès celebrates her two-year anniversary at American Vintage. A perfect time for this Project Coordinator – Store Planning to share her favourite recipe with us for the Algerian white soup known as chorba beida. “For me, like so many others, cooking is all about sharing. So, I decided to combine a soup, which represents my origins, with Lebanese cheese rolls. I like to make this for simple dinners at home, when I want (and need) a meal as comforting as it is inviting.”
Ingredients for chorba beida
300 g chicken or veal
1 tbsp (approx.) smen (fermented butter) or butter
1 drizzle sunflower oil
2 onions
Salt
Pepper
1 tsp ground cinnamon + 1 cinnamon stick
1 large potato or 2 small ones
100 g chickpeas
A few strands of saffron
1 bunch parsley
1 egg yolk
Juice of half a lemon
40 g vermicelli
1 to 1.5 litres water
Preparation of chorba beida
1 — In a pot, melt the butter or smen with a drizzle of oil. Quickly brown the meat.
2 — Meanwhile, mix or finely dice the onions, then add them to the meat. Cook until they become translucent.
3 — Add the salt, pepper, ground cinnamon and cinnamon stick. Add the peeled potato(es) and chickpeas, then cover with water (about 1 to 1.5 litres, depending on the desired quantity of soup).
4 — While you are doing this, infuse the saffron in a small glass of water.
5 — Simmer for about 30 minutes, then remove the meat, potato(es) and cinnamon stick. Shred the chicken (or cut the meat into small pieces) and return to the pot. Crush the potatoes into a purée before returning to the pot as well.
6 — Add the vermicelli (warning: they become much bigger when cooked).
7 — In a small bowl, mix the egg yolk with a ladleful of soup (be careful not to cook the yolk), then add 3 or 4 branches of finely chopped parsley. You can add the lemon juice at this step, but I prefer to put it directly in my bowl at the end in order to keep the sweetness of the soup intact.
8 — Pour this mixture into the pot to thicken the soup slightly, then add the saffron infusion. Cover and cook for 30 minutes more.
Ingredients for rakakat cheese rolls
Feta
Grated mozzarella
Sheets of filo or brik pastry
Flour
Water
Dried thyme (not zaatar)
Preparation for rakakat cheese rolls
1 — In a large bowl, crumble the feta into small pieces. Then, add the grated mozzarella and dried thyme.
2 — In a small bowl, mix some flour and water to create a wheatpaste.
3 — Preheat the oven to 190°C (374°F).
4 — Cut the filo sheets into squares or cut the brik sheets in half.
5 — The folding technique is important to prevent the cheese from leaking out during baking. For filo dough, put some of the cheese mixture in a corner, then roll diagonally to the opposite corner, folding the three sides over the mixture at the beginning. Seal the last corner with wheatpaste.
6 — For brik sheets, place the mixture at one end and roll it lengthwise, folding in the edges to enclose the cheese.
7 — I prefer to bake the rolls. Place them on a tray covered with baking paper, brush them with olive oil and bake for about 20 minutes, until they are golden brown.
To give this recipe a twist: “I like to top the soup with some fresh coriander (cilantro) once it’s served for a bright touch!”
AMV Journal is a space dedicated to encounters, discovery and travel. Every week, explore the musts, portraits and inspirations of American Vintage and its creation studio.