Thick potato slices hollowed and stuffed with spiced ground beef, fried, then simmered in a light tomato sauce, a Libyan-Jewish specialty.
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.
Serves 4
Slice the potatoes into thick rounds, then cut a deep pocket into each slice without cutting all the way through.
Combine ground beef, onion, garlic, parsley, cumin, paprika and salt.
Fill each potato pocket generously with the meat mixture, pressing to seal.
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.
Combine crushed tomatoes and water in a pot, bring to a simmer, then gently add the fried stuffed potatoes.
Cover and simmer for 25 minutes until the potatoes are fully tender and the meat is cooked through. Serve hot.
Cut the pocket into the potato deep enough to hold plenty of filling, but not so deep that it breaks through the sides during frying.
Fry the stuffed potatoes until golden before simmering in sauce — this step seals in the filling and adds a deeper flavor.
Simmer gently in the tomato sauce rather than at a hard boil to keep the stuffed potatoes intact.
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.
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.
Mafroum 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.
The pocket may have been cut too deep, breaking through the sides — cut carefully to create a pocket without piercing all the way through.
Yes, it reheats well; the flavors deepen after resting in the tomato sauce overnight.
Yes, though frying first gives a deeper flavor and helps seal the filling; baked versions should be brushed generously with oil before baking at high heat.
Per serving (380g / 13.4 oz) · 4 servings total
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