Maâkouda | Algerian potato croquettes

بِسْــــــــــــــــــــــمِ اﷲِارَّحْمَنِ ارَّحِيم

السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته

Today, I am sharing with you a ingenius and very versatile little Algerian finger food called Maâkouda.

For me, this is the prefect way to not only recycle leftovers but sneak in healthy foods for my little picky eaters. The method is  simple and versatile to your needs.  I have made this healthier by using a mix of potato and spinach. The traditional Maâkouda only included potatoes - no stuffing. But you can use my method, or add more other veggies like carrots, sweet potatoes ... or stuff them with again, whatever you like! So let's start... 

Maâkouda - 
(Crispy Algerian potato bites)

• 4 potatoes cut into cubes
• One bunch of fresh spinach (about half cup) very finely chopped
• 2 eggs
• Handful of chopped parsley and cilantro
• 3 cloves garlic (more or less depending on how garlicky you like it)
• 1 tsp cumin
• few threads of saffron
• salt and pepper
• Breading station: flour, egg, breadcrumbs (I added herbs, white pepper, salt and paprika to the crumbs)

Optional stuffing:

• Cubes of cheese of your choice

1. Wash and peel the potatoes. Do the same for the spinach.
2.  Cook the potatoes in salted water. 
3. When the potatoes are almost tender, add in the spinach.
4. Drain the potatoes and spinach, allowing for the extra moisture to drain out.
5. Mash with a mill or crushing them with a fork.
6. Mix in the flavourings.
7. Form balls with the mixture then stuff in each one a cheese.
8. Prepare logs from the balls, flatten slightly with your fingers. You can form really any shape you like.
9. Bread each log in the flour, egg then breadcrumbs.Take care to remove excess flour, patting lightly maâkoudas.
10. In a hot frying plunge maâkoudas and brown on both sides.
11. Drain the oil and then salt.

Serve warm on a bed of salad or along with a dipping sauce if you like.

Trick:

You can use other vegetables, as I mentioned above like sweet potatos, pumpkin, carrot. And you can also stuff these with mortadella, salami, or other cheeses like cream cheese, Edam, Havarti or Halloumi.

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