This recipe is part of Asif’s Open Kitchen Project where cooks who were evacuated during the war are invited to a home in Tel Aviv to cook a dish that they miss from their own home. Would you like to participate in the project? Register here.
Every week, Miri Ben Simon sends boxes of homemade food to her four children and 10 grandchildren who are scattered throughout the country. Evacuated from their home in Qiryat Shmona since mid-October, Miri and her husband have temporarily moved to Tel Aviv, where they are living in a hotel without a kitchen. This has meant a pause in the regular food deliveries her family members love so much. Her children humorously say it has caused a “decline in their quality of life,” she notes with a smile.
Miri, who immigrated from Spain to Israel at the age of 3, has been a Qiryat Shemona resident since then. “When I got married, I knew nothing about the kitchen; I cooked macaroni in cold water,” she says. But, she quickly developed a passion for cooking, learning to make Moroccan food from her sister-in-law as well as recipes from friends and cooking websites.
For the Open Kitchen Project, Miri chose to prepare dishes close to her heart that she often sends to her children including matbucha (or a “cooked salad” as she calls it), a savory potato and egg pie called mkhamar, and a roasted eggplant salad with mayonnaise and garlic. And at the end she packed it all up into boxes for her kids.
Miri was a guest in Efrat Halevi’s kitchen in central Tel Aviv. Amidst Zoom meetings, Efrat extended Miri an open invitation to come and cook whenever she likes — an offer that Miri enthusiastically embraced. During the process, Efrat had the opportunity to taste a slice of the mkhamar and a roll loaded with the cooked salads prepared by Miri.
Miri typically prepares the mkhamar in a deep pan on Thursdays. “Usually, I work on Fridays, so I prepare the mkhamar in advance. You can enjoy the pie warm or transfer it to the refrigerator, covered, and serve it cold with a few drops of lemon juice,” Miri says. She serves the mkhamar alongside “Friday’s sandwich,” which she makes with challah, eggplant, and matbucha.
5 large potatoes, peeled and cut into large cubes
2 large carrots, peeled and halved
11 eggs
½ bunch parsley, stems removed, leaves finely chopped
2 teaspoons (10 grams) baking powder
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
½ teaspoon coarse salt
½ lemon, juiced
½ cup olive oil
- Place the diced potatoes, carrots and 1 raw egg in its shell in a pot. Fill with water to cover, cover with a lid, and bring to a boil. Cook over high heat for 25 minutes. Drain.
- Separate the ingredients: Mash the potatoes using a potato masher until smooth and creamy. Cut the soft carrot into small cubes and gently slice the egg into small cubes (take care not to mash it completely like you would for an egg salad). Mix everything together in a bowl until combined.
- Add the parsley, baking powder, spices, and lemon juice and mix well.
- In a separate bowl, beat the remaining 10 eggs until well combined. (It can help to break each into a small bowl first, so you can catch any shells or spoiled eggs.)
- Heat the olive oil in a deep oven-proof pan over medium heat. Place a small piece of the potato mixture in the oil. If it starts to pop, add the remaining potato mixture and smooth into an even layer.
- Cover and fry over a high heat until the sides of the pie brown a little, about 10 minutes.
- At this stage there are two options: Miri prefers to cover the pot with a slightly larger plate, carefully turn the pie over and slowly slide the pie back into the pot to cook. Cook, uncovered, over a low heat for 10-15 minutes. The second option is to preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Cover the pot with a slightly larger plate, carefully turn the pie over and slowly slide the pie back into the pot. Bake in the oven, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes. Occasionally check that the pie is browned and baked through.
- Place a large serving plate over the pot, flip the pie over and serve.
