Mefarka

Name: Mefarka
Ingredients: 1½ teaspoons mixed spices: nutmeg, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, ground cloves; Salt and black pepper; 750 g (1½ lb) lean beef, minced; 1 kg (2 lb) fresh broad beans, shelled, or 500 g (1 lb) shelled frozen broad beans; Juice of ½ lemon (optional); 3 eggs; ½ teaspoon dried thyme, or more; Oil

Preparation info

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

A New Book of Middle Eastern Food

By Claudia Roden

Published 1986

About

A great delicacy of ancient origin, mefarka was always prepared by my paternal grandmother and several of my aunts on Jewish feast days for the men to relish on their return from the synagogue. It is a very unusual cold dish of minced meat, fresh broad beans and eggs, lightly perfumed with thyme and spices.

Ingredients

Oil
1 kg (2 lb) fresh broad beans, shelled, or 500

Main course
Gluten-free

Method

Mix 3 tablespoons oil with a little water (about 1 small teacup) in a saucepan. Add broad beans, sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, and perfume with a little thyme. Simmer gently until the beans are tender, adding water, a little at a time, as it becomes absorbed.

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