Madfouna

Ingredients

Beans

• 300 gdried white beans, soaked overnight

Meat

• 700 glamb shoulder or neck, in chunks
• salt and black pepper

Greens

• 1.5 kgSwiss chard, leaves and stems separated
• a large bunch of flat parsley
• a bunch of coriander

Base

• 5 tbspolive oil
• 2onions, finely chopped
• 8garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tbsptomato paste
• 1 tbspground cumin
• 1 tbspground coriander
• 1 tspturmeric
• 1 tspharissa, or to taste
• 1 tsppaprika

To finish

• juice of 1 lemon
• olive oil, to pour over

To serve

• bread
• harissa

Directions

1. Rinse the dried white beans and pick over them for stones. Cover them with plenty of cold water and leave them overnight. Drain them and discard the soaking water. Put them in a pot with fresh water and simmer for forty-five minutes. They should be almost tender but not falling apart.
2. Drain them and keep the cooking liquid. Now the greens, which need a great deal of preparation. Strip the chard leaves from the thick white stems. Chop the stems into short lengths and keep them separate. The stems take much longer to cook than the leaves.
3. Wash the leaves in several changes of water. Chop the leaves finely, along with the parsley and coriander. Season the lamb chunks well with salt and pepper. Heat three tablespoons of the olive oil in a heavy pot. Brown the lamb in batches over a high heat. Give each batch four minutes a side. Lift the meat out and set it aside. Add the chopped onions and cook them for ten minutes.
4. Add the garlic and cook it for another two minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook it until it darkens. Add the cumin, coriander, turmeric, harissa and paprika. Fry the spices for a minute so they lose their raw edge.
5. Return the lamb with the chopped chard stems. Add water to cover and bring it to a simmer. Cover it and cook it for forty-five minutes. The meat should be tender and the stems soft. Add the chopped leaves and herbs in handfuls. Wait for each handful to wilt before adding the next. Add some of the bean cooking liquid. Lower the heat and cook it uncovered for forty-five minutes.
6. Stir it every ten minutes so nothing catches on the bottom. Now the consistency, which should be thick. Add a little bean liquid if it has gone too dry. Cook it uncovered longer if it is still loose. Taste it and adjust the salt and the harissa.
7. Squeeze the lemon juice over and stir it through. Pour a generous swirl of raw olive oil over the surface. Serve it hot in shallow bowls with bread.

Technique

• The greens should darken almost to black; that is the character of the dish, not a fault.
• Separate the chard stems and cook them with the meat, since they take far longer than the leaves.
• This is unrelated to the Moroccan medfouna, which is a stuffed bread.

Substitutions

• Spinach mixed with chard if chard alone is hard to find.
• Tinned white beans, added in the last twenty minutes.

Variations

• Made without meat, for a fasting version.
• With beef in place of lamb.
• With more harissa, which is common in the south.

History

A speciality of Gafsa in the south-west, where the greens are cooked down until almost black.

Frequently asked questions

What is Madfouna?

Madfouna is a main from Tunisia: chard, white beans and meat stewed slowly with cumin and coriander. A speciality of Gafsa in the south-west, where the greens are cooked down until almost black.

How long does Madfouna take to make?

Madfouna takes 30 min plus overnight soaking of preparation and 2 hours of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Madfouna?

Yes, within limits. Spinach mixed with chard if chard alone is hard to find. Tinned white beans, added in the last twenty minutes.