Maakouda is a Moroccan potato dish, served either as pie or as fritters. For Moroccan Jews maakouda became a traditional Passover weekday dish. Just like the Ashkenazi potato kugel, maakouda is a simple pie of potatoes and eggs, both were staples of Passover for many Jewish communities around the Diaspora.

And just to make it a bit more interesting, healthy and fun, I added a bunch of chopped fresh dandelions to the original recipe, and loved the results. You can experiment with the greens of your choice, from herbs to kale, spinach or Swiss chard. Look at it as the bitter herb of the Passover Seder.

Moroccan Potato pie with dandelion (Maakouda)

Recipe by Vered GuttmanCourse: PastriesCuisine: Moroccan, Israeli, JewishDifficulty: Medium

Yields

inch pie

Prep time

minutes

Baking time

minutes

Total time

hour

minutes

Maakouda is a Moroccan potato dish, served either as pie or as fritters. for the Moroccan Jews it became a traditional Passover weekday dish. Similarly to the Ashkenazi potato kugel, the maakouda is a simple pie of potatoes and eggs, both were staples of Passover for many Jewish communities around the Diaspora.

INGREDIENTS

2 lb. Golden potatoes, skin on, scrubbed
5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 yellow onion, chopped
½ lb. dandelion, chopped (or chard leaves, spinach or a bunch of chopped flat parsley)
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
5 eggs, separated

DIRECTIONS

Oven to 425 degrees. Spray a 9” round cake pan with oil and drizzle one tablespoon olive oil at the bottom.
Put the potatoes, skin on, in a medium pot and cover with cold water. Bring to boil over high heat, cover, lower the heat and cook until tender, about 25 minutes. Drain and transfer the potatoes to a large bowl. You can either remove potato skins or leave them on for a more rustic results. Mash the potatoes, making sure to leave small to medium chunks.
While the potatoes are cooking, put 3 tablespoons olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat and sauté the onion until golden. Add the chopped dandelion and sauté about 3 minutes longer. Remove from the heat.
Add the dandelion mixture into the mashed potatoes and mix. Add salt, turmeric, black pepper and egg yolks and mix again.
Whip egg whites to form soft peaks and then fold gently into potato mixture. Transfer to the pan and drizzle a little olive oil on top. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for 30-35 minutes longer, until the top is golden and the pie is firm. Let sit for 10 minutes, then slice and serve.