Madfouna

Storing and Planning Ahead

Refrigerated for 3 days without the lid. It freezes for 3 months.

Making Madfouna

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1. Heat the oven to 180°C / 350°F. Knead the semolina, water, salt and oil to a firm dough and rest it while you cook the filling.

   Mark done

2. Brown the lamb in the oil in an ovenproof dish over high heat, 8 minutes. Add the onions and cook 8 minutes.

   Mark done

3. Stir in the tomato purée and harissa and fry 2 minutes until the oil runs red, then add the garlic, caraway, ground coriander and salt.

   Mark done

4. Add the chopped chard stems, the chickpeas and the water and bring to a simmer.

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5. Pile the chard leaves on top — they will look like far too much and will collapse.

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6. Roll the dough into a disc slightly larger than the dish, lay it over the top and press the edge down hard all the way round to seal it completely.

   Mark done

7. Bake 60 minutes. Break the lid open at the table; the leaves will have collapsed into the sauce and the lamb will be falling apart.

   Mark done

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A Few Pointers

• Seal the lid properly. Escaping steam defeats the method.
• Chard stems early, leaves last and heaped high.
• The lid is a seal, not a pastry. Nobody is meant to admire it.

Good Alongside

Khobz tabouna · Harissa · Slata tounsia

If You're Missing Something

• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.

The Numbers per Serving

Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: a drained tin is counted at its full weight, liquid included, so those lines run high. How the figures are worked out.