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Maacouda bi Batata

This Tunisian specialty is easy to make and quite delicious.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    serves 4

Ingredients

1 pound mealy potatoes, peeled
Salt
1 large onion, chopped
3 tablespoons vegetable or extra-virgin olive oil
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
Pepper

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Boil the potatoes in salted water, then drain and mash them. Fry the onion in 2 tablespoons of the oil till soft and golden, stirring occasionally.

    Step 2

    Beat the eggs into the potatoes, then stir in the fried onion and the parsley, and season with salt and pepper.

    Step 3

    Heat the remaining oil in a preferably nonstick skillet and pour in the potato mixture. Cook, covered, over low heat until the bottom sets. Then put under the broiler to cook the top until firm and lightly colored.

    Step 4

    Serve hot or cold.

  2. Variations

    Step 5

    For a Persian version, kuku-ye sibzamini, use 6 chopped scallions or a bunch of chives instead of the fried onions.

    Step 6

    For a potato ojja, fry the onion till golden, add 4 peeled and chopped tomatoes and the thinly sliced potatoes, and cook until the potatoes are soft. Then stir in the lightly beaten eggs and cook until set.

Cover of Claudia Roden's The New Book of Middle Easter Food, featuring a blue filigree bowl filled with Meyer lemons and sprigs of mint.
Reprinted with permission from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, copyright © 2000 by Claudia Roden, published by Knopf. Buy the full book on Amazon or Bookshop.
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