Baby “Mafrum”- baby potatoes, stuffed with meat

“Mafrum” is a libyan / tunisian dish of stuffed and fried potatoes that are then cooked in tomato sauce. In this recipe I baked the potatoes instead of frying them, They still came out delicious

• 10 baby potatoes, peeled 

• 1 medium potato, peeled 

• 1 large onion, peeled 

• ½ bunch cilantro, leaves only

• ½ bunch cilantro, leaves only

• 1 egg 

• 0.6 lb. ground beef

• ½ tsp.baking powder

• 1 tsp, Ras El Hanut

• Salt and pepper

• 2 garlic cloves

For the crust:

• 2 eggs, beaten

• ¼ cup olive oil

• ¾ cup semolina flour

For the sauce:

• 1 tbsp. Baharat

• Salt and pepper

• 2 tbsp. tomato paste

• 1 big tomato, chopped

• 1 small onion, sliced

• 1 tbsp. paprika

• 2 garlic cloves

• 3 tbsp. olive oil 

• 1 cup warm  chicken broth or  water

1. Heat the oven (400)

2. In a food processor, place the onion, herbs, garlic and the medium potato and chop. Transfer to a bowl.

3. Add the meat, egg, baking powder  and spices and mix well. 

4.  Peel the potatoes. Slice the potatoes lengthwise to form a V-shape and leave the two slices intact.

5. Stuff the potatoes with some meat and place in a tray. Make meatballs from the rest of the meat. 

6. In a bowl, mix the eggs with the oil and put the semolina in another bowl.

7. Dip each potato and meatball in the egg and then in the semolina and place in a lined baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes. In the meantime make the sauce.

8. Heat the oil in a wide skillet and lightly fry the onion. Add the spices and the garlic and fry for 3 more minutes on medium heat.

9. Add the tomato and tomato, stir and add the chicken stalk. Bring to a boil.

   1. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the baked Mafrums and meatballs. 

10. Cook for 15 minutes. Serve on couscous.