Sfiria

Ingredients

Bread and cheese balls

• 300 gstale white bread, crusts removed, soaked in water and squeezed dry
• 200 ggrated cheese, such as Edam or Gruyere
• 4eggs
• 1 handfulflat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 tspground cinnamon
• 1 tspblack pepper
• ½ tspsalt
• 500 mlsunflower oil, for shallow frying

White sauce

• 6chicken thighs, skin removed
• 3 tbspsmen or 50 g butter
• 2 tbspsunflower oil
• 2onions, grated
• 200 gcooked chickpeas
• 1cinnamon stick
• 1 tspwhite pepper
• 1 tspground cinnamon
• 1.2 litreswater
• salt

To finish

• juice of 1 lemon
• 1egg yolk (optional, for thickening)
• ground cinnamon, for dusting

Directions

1. Squeeze the soaked bread as dry as you possibly can, pressing it between your palms and then in a clean cloth; wet bread gives balls that fall apart in the oil.
2. Crumble the bread into a bowl and mix thoroughly with the grated cheese, eggs, parsley, cinnamon, pepper and salt until you have a firm, cohesive paste.
3. Roll the paste into balls the size of a walnut, or flatten them into small discs, and chill for 20 minutes so they hold their shape.
4. Meanwhile melt the smen with the oil in a heavy pot, add the chicken and grated onion, and sweat over medium-low heat for 10 minutes with no colour at all.
5. Add the white pepper, ground cinnamon, cinnamon stick, chickpeas and water, bring to a bare simmer, skim, and cook covered for 35 minutes until the meat is tender.
6. Heat the frying oil to 170°C (350°F) and fry the chilled balls in batches for 2 to 3 minutes, turning, until evenly golden and crisp on the outside. Drain on a rack.
7. Lower the fried balls into the simmering white sauce and poach uncovered for 15 minutes, without stirring, until they have swollen slightly and drunk up the sauce while still holding together.
8. Lift out the chicken and balls, reduce the sauce over medium heat for 5 to 8 minutes until it coats a spoon, then take it off the heat.
9. Whisk the lemon juice with the egg yolk if using, temper with a ladle of hot sauce and stir it back in off the heat, never letting it boil again.
10. Arrange the chicken and the balls in a shallow dish, pour the sauce over, dust with cinnamon and serve with bread.

Technique

• Sfiria is a way of using up stale bread, which is why the balls should taste distinctly of cheese and cinnamon, not blandly of bread.
• Frying before poaching is essential: the crust is what stops the balls dissolving in the sauce, and skipping it leaves you with a cloudy pot of crumbs.
• Do not stir once the balls are in. Shake the pot by the handles if you need to redistribute them.
• It belongs to Constantine and Algiers, where it appears at weddings and at Mawlid, and it is often served as one dish in a larger spread.

Substitutions

• No stale bread: 250 g fresh breadcrumbs plus an extra egg gives a similar paste, though it fries slightly softer.
• Any firm melting cheese works. Older recipes use fresh jben, which gives a milder, curdier ball.

Variations

• A red sfiria simmers the balls in a tomato and paprika sauce instead of the white one.
• Some cooks add ground almonds to the bread paste for richness.
• A version with the balls made from mashed potato rather than bread is common in Setif.

History

A Constantine and Algiers festive dish of the old urban kitchens, served for Mawlid and weddings alongside white chickpea sauces.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sfiria?

Sfiria is a main from Algeria: fried bread-and-cheese balls poached in a white cinnamon chicken sauce. A Constantine and Algiers festive dish of the old urban kitchens, served for Mawlid and weddings alongside white chickpea sauces.

How long does Sfiria take to make?

Sfiria takes 40 min of preparation and 1 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Sfiria?

Yes, within limits. No stale bread: 250 g fresh breadcrumbs plus an extra egg gives a similar paste, though it fries slightly softer. Any firm melting cheese works. Older recipes use fresh jben, which gives a milder, curdier ball.

What is the most important thing to get right in Sfiria?

Whisk the lemon juice with the egg yolk if using, temper with a ladle of hot sauce and stir it back in off the heat, never letting it boil again.