Dafina
By: Anonymous
Published: Wednesday, February 10, 2010 - 3:21pm

Ingredients




1 cup Chick-peas which have been soaked in water overnight
Salt and pepper to taste
teaspoon Tumeric
teaspoon Mace
1 Entire head garlic
1 Onion, sliced
1 4-pound top rib, breast of beef, or 1 pound Ground meat
cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
teaspoon Ground cloves
10 Eggs
1 Beef tongue (optional)
2 cups Rice, uncooked
cup Vegetable oil
6 Yams or sweet potatoes, peeled (up to 7)
10 whls potatoes, peeled (up to 12)
4 Dates, pitted (up to 6)
Water

Preparation

1 The following dafina recipe from Morocco is outstanding. The meatloaf, made from ground walnuts, ground beef, cinnamon, and sugar, is a marvelous Moroccan addition. By sealing the stew tightly and cooking for about 18 hours, the result is a melt-in-your-mouth meat stew. It can be served in 3 courses. The broth becomes a soup with the addition of thin, vermicelli-like fidellos noodles. Then come the vegetables, and finally the meat course. Follow this with a light fruit dessert rather than a heavy kugel. 2 Using a large 9-quart casserole with a tight-fitting lid, place the chick-peas on the bottom. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and add tumeric and mace. 3 Place the garlic cloves, onion, and brisket on top of the chick-peas. 4 Sprinkle again with salt and pepper. 5 Combine the ground meat, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and 2 eggs and form into a meat loaf. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and place next to the meat. 6 If using tongue, place that in with the rest of the meat. 7 Put the rice loosely in a cheesecloth and close tightly. Place on top of the meat. Pour the oil over the rice. 8 Surround the rice with the yams or sweet potatoes, the white potatoes, the dates, and the remaining 8 eggs. Sprinkle again with salt and pepper. 9 Add water up to the top of the potatoes about 3/4 full. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer 1 hour on top of the stove. Add more water, if necessary, to keep it 3/4 full. 10 Preheat the oven to 250-degrees F. and place the dafina in the oven. 11 Leave overnight or for at least 10 hours. Do not open until ready to serve. 12 Place the vegetables in one dish, the meat in another, the rice in a third, and the broth in a fourth, as a soup course.