July 03, 2024

Potato mtafaieh | Fattoush Girls

In Arabic, mtafaieh means "to extinguish," and batata means "potato." The concept: once the potato is hot, you "extinguish" it with the sauce. At a restaurant, a meal always begins with a generous portion of batata mtafaieh as a mezze. They say kids won't like it... but that's just to avoid having to share!

Ingredients for 4 to 6 servings as a side dish:

1 liter (4 cups) vegetable oil
8 peeled potatoes, cut into large cubes
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp potato mix
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
10 g (1/4 cup) chopped fresh coriander (optional)
3 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 tbsp chopped curly parsley

Preparation :

In a deep fryer or saucepan over medium-high heat, heat the vegetable oil. Add the potato cubes, half at a time if necessary, and fry until golden brown. Set the potatoes aside on a plate lined with paper towels.

In a skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic, fresh cilantro, if desired, lemon juice, potato spice mix, and chili flakes. Cook and stir for 3 minutes. Add the potatoes and cook for another 3 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat. Let stand for a few minutes. Garnish with parsley and serve warm or at room temperature as a side dish.

Excerpt from the book "At Adelle's Table" p.72