Small maakoudas — potato fritters with cumin, garlic and parsley

pareve Tunisian Jewish · easy · 45 min, including 25 hands-on

Small pan-fried potato fritters with a crisp golden crust and a tender golden-yellow centre, flavoured with garlic, cumin, turmeric and parsley, served with loosened harissa and lemon wedges.

Ingredients for two

Method

1. Peel the potatoes and cut into large 3 cm pieces (quarter a medium potato): large pieces absorb less water than small dice. Put in the saucepan with the 700 g cold water and 5 g salt (1 tsp), bring to the boil and simmer for 13–15 minutes, until a knife tip slides in without resistance. Meanwhile, peel the garlic, remove any green shoot and crush in a garlic press; finely chop the parsley (and coriander), and beat the egg in a bowl.
2. Drain the potatoes, return to their saucepan and dry over a low heat for 2 minutes, shaking, until their surfaces turn white. This gives a dry mixture that does not need flour. While still hot, put through a potato ricer or mash with a fork; never use a blender, which would make the mash gluey. Spread on a plate and leave to cool for 3–4 minutes.
3. Mix the garlic, parsley, cumin, turmeric, 3 g salt and pepper into the warm potatoes. Taste a little of this unfried potato mixture and adjust the salt before adding the egg. Stir in the beaten egg and 10 g flour, mixing only enough to bind: the mixture should be soft and golden yellow, and hold in a small mound without becoming sticky through kneading.
4. Divide into 8 portions of about 40 g and shape into 5 cm patties, 1–1.5 cm thick, dusting your hands with the remaining 10 g flour. Put on a floured plate and chill in the freezer for 5 minutes (or in the fridge for 15 minutes if time allows): they will hold their shape during cooking and brown better. Meanwhile, loosen the harissa in a small bowl with 10 g olive oil and the juice of a lemon wedge.
5. Heat 60 g olive oil in a 24 cm non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat: there should be a distinct layer of oil over the base, about 2 mm deep. It is ready when a crumb of the mixture sizzles immediately, without the oil smoking. Add the 8 patties in a single layer, 2 cm apart.
6. Fry the first side for 3 minutes without moving the patties, until the edges are nicely golden. Turn with a wide spatula and fry for 2 minutes 30 seconds to 3 minutes on the other side. The centres should be piping hot and set, with no trace of raw egg. Drain for 30 seconds on a rack or kitchen paper.
7. Serve 4 small fritters per person immediately, with the loosened harissa and remaining lemon wedges to squeeze over at the last moment. Do not cover or stack the hot fritters: steam would soften the crust.

On your plate

Cooking tips

Floury potatoes, thoroughly drained and dried over a low heat, make a light mixture with very little flour. If you have time (allow an extra 10 minutes), use the grandmothers' method: boil the potatoes whole in their skins in salted water for 25 minutes, peel while still hot, holding them in a tea towel, and put through a potato ricer; the mixture will be even drier. For a more neutral oil and hotter frying, replace the oil in the pan with sunflower oil, or use half of each. For spicy maakouda, add 5 g harissa directly to the mixture in step 3. To prepare ahead, shape the fritters, keep refrigerated for a few hours on their floured plate and fry just before serving. This portion is a starter; the maakouda_repas recipe adds hard-boiled eggs and a salad to make a dinner.

Equipment : small saucepan, colander, potato ricer or fork, plate, bowl, small bowl, 24 cm non-stick frying pan, wide spatula, wire rack

Kemia fritters in the style of street maakoudas from Algiers and Casablanca, with Tunisian seasoning (cumin, garlic, parsley and turmeric). In Tunisia, maakouda also refers to an oven-baked potato and egg cake.