Perfect season to sample Sephardi potato chops

LIKE SO many Jewish dishes, each culture has their own variation. What’s called potato chops by the Indian/Iraqi community are just as popular with the Moroccan community, where they are referred to as les pastele de pragues. Of course, the seasoning is different according to their origins and Moroccans use ginger and cinnamon. Iraqi Indians use both garam masala and allspice, representative of both heritages.

Potato chops are wonderful to serve at Pesach with a hearty shell made of mashed potatoes and filled with minced beef or chicken. Normally they are then dipped in breadcrumbs before frying, but on Pesach they are just as wonderful when the breadcrumbs are omitted or replaced with kosher for Pesach matzah meal. They are a little fiddly to make but freeze wonderfully so can be batch-made and stored.

INGREDIENTS

3 Maris Piper potatoes

1 egg

1 small onion finely chopped 300g minced beef

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp allspice

½ tsp salt

Matzah meal for dipping – optional Oil for shallow frying

METHOD

Boil the potatoes for approximately 15 minutes (depending on the size of your potatoes) until they are cooked through

Take them out of the water and let them cool slightly before taking the skins off

Mash them through a potato ricer to get a soft texture and mix them well with the egg and salt to taste.

Leave to one side while you make the meat filling

Finely chop the onion and fry until it starts to soften.

Add the minced meat, breaking up with a spoon Add the seasonings and mix well.

Add a splash of water if the mixture is looking dry and cook together until golden brown. Using wet hands, take a golf-ball-size piece of the mashed potato and press down in the palm of your hands.

Place a tablespoon of the minced beef mixture in the middle and pull up the sides, joining the tops. Roll together gently to close the potato cake. Once all the mixture is used up, place them in the fridge to firm up before frying.

Heat up 1cm deep, neutral oil on a medium to high heat.

Place the potato cakes in the hot oil and do not move them around until they are golden on the bottom; then turn over. Repeat on the other side before placing them on kitchen paper to drain of the excess oil.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Joanna Nissim is a passionate foodie and cook, of everything

— but especially her family’s Sephardi recipes. She also hosts demonstrations and private cooking lessons. She loves to write for various publications and has written a cookbook of her family recipes which she hopes to publish in the near future. Her recipes and handy tips can be found on her Instagram page: Joanna_nissim.