Maakouda is a Moroccan potato dish, served either as pie or as fritter, which became an everyday dish for Jews during Passover. Just like Ashkenazi potato kugel, maakouda is a staple of Passover for so many Jewish communities around the Diaspora.
Notes:
- If you do not eat peas on Passover, simply omit them from the recipe.
- Maakouda keeps, covered, in the fridge up to five days.
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Moroccan Potato Pie
An easy, satisfying weeknight dinner, and a staple Passover dish.
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: Serves 8-10
Ingredients
Units
- 2 lb golden potatoes, skin on, scrubbed
- 5 Tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 3 large carrots, peeled and diced
- ½ lb fresh (or frozen) green peas
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp turmeric
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- 5 large eggs, separated
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with oil and drizzle 1 Tbsp 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 Tbsp 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 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°F 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.
Notes
Maakouda keeps, covered, in the fridge up to five days.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Category: Passover
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Vegetarian
- Diet: Vegetarian
Would like to make this recipe for Passover. We don’t use peas or beans . What can I use as a substitute?
Hi Debby, you can leave the peas out and add additional carrots or another vegetable.
could i make this with a layer of ground beef on the bottom
That sounds delicious! You’d have to cook the beef beforehand but we say go for it! Please let us know how it turns out.
Is it possible to add the whole egg instead of just the egg yokes?
Hi Joseph, the egg yolks are incorporated in Step 4 and the egg whites in Step 5. Enjoy!
The egg whites are whipped to soft peaks then added – they help leaven the mix. IMHO you could probably just add the whole egg but you would not get the same result.
Can this pie be frozen (baked) and rewarded before the meal?
Hi Anat, we haven’t tried freezing this, but it should be fine if you let if thaw completely before reheating. Note that you can also make this several days in advance and store in the refrigerator.
Can chopped spinach be used instead of peas, and if it can, then how much spinach?
Sure, you could use a pound of raw spinach.
Would this work with frozen hash brown potatoes – would defrost
What type of herbs did you add? Thanks.
Hi Sheryl, you can substitute the peas with chopped spinach; you can also add herbs of your choice to the mix (parsley and dill would work well). Enjoy!
If I added the whole eggs without separating the whites and beating them, would the result be too heavy, or not much different? i haven’t made this yet, but it looks/reads delicious.
It would be much denser.
The picture looks like you have used courgettes or a different recipe altogether? I can’t see the carrots or the peas? Nice recipe though, I look forward to trying it out!
I would like to prep this the day before. Is it better to bake the day before and heat up or prep and bake the day of? Thank you – excited to try!
Better to bake the day before, it keeps for up to five days in the fridge. Enjoy!
I am thinking it would be very nice with chopped spinach