Maakouda is a Moroccan potato pie, served either in slices or as individual fritters. Moroccan Jews adapted it as a Passover weekday dish. Similarly to the Ashkenazi potato kugel, the maakouda is a simple pie of potatoes and eggs, both are staples of Passover in so many Jewish communities around the Diaspora. The addition of carrots, peas and parsley, makes maakouda delicious, colorful and health-ish.
See here another, less conventional, version of maakouda.
Moroccan potato and carrot pie (Maakouda)
Course: Sides, Main courseCuisine: Moroccan, Jewish, IsraeliDifficulty: Easy12
servings15
minutes1
hour10
minutes1
hour25
minutesMaakouda is a Moroccan potato pie, served either in slices or as individual fritters. It is a favorite for Passover.
*Peas are considered to be kitniyot (legume) and are forbidden for some Ashkenazi Jews during Passover. If you’re not eating peas during the holiday, simply omit the peas from the recipe and continue with the instructions as usual.
INGREDIENTS
2 lb. Golden potatoes, skin on, scrubbed
5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 large carrots, peeled and diced
½ lb. Fresh (or frozen) green (English) pea (For Kitniyot consumers, see note above)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
5 large 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 some of it 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 and carrots until carrots are tender, about 8 minutes. Add green pea, if using, and sauté about 3 minutes longer (or 1 minute if you’re using frozen peas.) Remove from the heat.
- Add the carrot-pea 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.
- Maakouda keeps covered in the fridge up to 5 days.
