Israeli Mafroum (Stuffed Fried Potato with Meat)

About This Recipe

Israeli Mafroum is a real, traditional Israeli dish, known as Stuffed Fried Potato with Meat. Thick potato slices hollowed and stuffed with spiced ground beef, fried, then simmered in a light tomato sauce, a Libyan-Jewish specialty.\n\nMafroum was brought to Israel by Libyan Jewish immigrants, where the technique of stuffing vegetables like potato and eggplant with seasoned meat became a beloved comfort food especially popular for holiday meals.\n\nThe result is a dish worth making on its own merits: it rewards patience with the technique and delivers real, specific flavor rooted in Israeli home cooking, not a generic stand-in for a search term.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 4large potatoes(peeled and sliced thick)
• 400 gground beef
• 1yellow onion(finely diced)
• 2garlic cloves(minced)
• 2 tbspchopped fresh parsley
• 1 tspground cumin
• 0.5 tspsweet paprika
• 1 tspfine sea salt
• 0.5 cupall-purpose flour(for dredging)
• 2eggs(beaten, for dredging)
• 300 mlneutral oil(for frying)
• 400 gcrushed tomatoes
• 200 mlwater

Instructions

1. 1

   Prep the potatoes

   Slice the potatoes into thick rounds, then cut a deep pocket into each slice without cutting all the way through.

2. 2

   Make the filling

   Combine ground beef, onion, garlic, parsley, cumin, paprika and salt.

3. 3

   Stuff the potatoes

   Fill each potato pocket generously with the meat mixture, pressing to seal.

4. 4

   Fry

   Dredge each stuffed potato in flour then beaten egg, and fry in hot oil until golden on both sides, about 4 minutes per side; drain.

5. 5

   Simmer in sauce

   Combine crushed tomatoes and water in a pot, bring to a simmer, then gently add the fried stuffed potatoes.

6. 6

   Finish

   Cover and simmer for 25 minutes until the potatoes are fully tender and the meat is cooked through. Serve hot.

Variations

• •

  Use eggplant instead of potato for another traditional Libyan-Jewish mafroum variation.

• •

  Add a pinch of cayenne to the meat filling for extra heat.

• •

  Serve with rice to soak up the tomato sauce.

Storage

Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat gently on the stovetop or in the microwave with a splash of water or stock to loosen the texture.

Frequently Asked Questions