08.31.09
Moroccan Sensations – Part 3…
It’s hard to believe almost three weeks have gone by since I left Morocco. This summer, my mother-in-law added a new Moroccan dish to my culinary repertoire. This new dish is called Chaariya Medfouna – it literally means “vermicelli stuffed” or stuffed vermicelli. It’s a pasta dish. In America, unlike couscous or tagine, it’s a lesser known Moroccan dish which consists of saffron chicken, lamb, or beef hidden within a mound of broken vermicelli (chaariya). Hence the name stuffed vermicelli. The noodles are sweetened with raisins and powdered sugar, flavored with a specially salted butter called smen, and topped with roasted and crushed almonds, cinnamon, and more powdered sugar. This is a very popular dish in most Moroccan households. It is typically served on a large platter communal style where everyone consumes it directly from the platter using folks. The delicious pasta not only keeps the hidden meat moist, but also creates an sense of treasure hunting when one digs into it. I find cooked chaariya so addicting that I usually have a hard time stopping myself from eating it. This strangely makes my mother-in-law happy.
In Morocco, a coucousiere is basically a pot with a steamer attachment on top. It can be used to boil the vermicelli in the beginning, then steam it on the top. This is a great dish to make with a friend or a family member during the weekend or holiday for a special dinner. You might even consier eating it Moroccan style. I hope you won’t be put off by the time and effort involved. Give it a try, the flavor combination might give you a pleasant surprise.
Chaariya Medfouna (Stuffed Vermicelli)
Serves 6-8
For chicken sauce:
1 chicken, in 8 pieces
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 pinch saffron
3 large onions, diced
1 bundle parsley, chopped
1 bundle corriander, chopped
2 Tbsp butter
8 cups water
For the pasta:
12 cups water
4 lbs broken verimcelli
2 Tbsp salt
2 Tbsp smen (or regular butter)
1/2 cup raisins
Toppings:
2 Tbsp powdered sugar
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1 cup crushed roasted almonds
4 hard-boiled eggs, sectioned
- In a pot, melt the butter, add the rest of the ingredients to make the chicken sauce. Half covered, cook everything over medium-low heat for 35-40 mins.
- Drain the sauce to a bowl and reserve for later use. Keep the chicken warm in the pot.
- In a couscousiere, heat up some water. Add 2 Tbsp of salt. Boil the broken vermicelli for 10 minutes.
- Drain the vermicelli and put it on the top steamer. Melt the smen in the pasta, mix in the raisins, and steam for 15 minutes.
- In a large platter, line the bottom with a layer of vermicelli. Make a volcano shape by creating a hole in the center of the pasta.
- Add the chicken pieces to the middle of the platter. Completely cover the chicken with the remaining vermicelli, making a cone-shaped mound.
- Garnish the pasta by sprinkling powdered sugar, cinnamon, chopped almonds, and hard-boiled eggs on top.
- Serve when hot. Add the reserved chicken sauce to the individual vermicelli serving as desired.
moe40 said,
August 31, 2009 at 9:21 pm
I can taste it from here, Yummy
cecilia said,
September 1, 2009 at 9:28 pm
There was a question about where to find chaariya (broken vermicelli). Unfortunately I haven’t been able to locate it in the United States yet. I just use angel hair pasta or thin spaghetti, and break it into 1-inch pieces. If you have seen the broken version in the store, please let us know here.
cecilia said,
September 5, 2009 at 10:05 am
Another question regarding smen. To make it at home, start with some sweet butter (I use raw butter), leave it out in room temperature. When it’s soft enough, mix in a generous amount of salt. I don’t have an exact recipe, but I typically add about 1/4 cup of salt to 1 cup of butter. That sounds like a lot, but it’s only because smen is used sparingly. Keep the salted butter covered in room temperature for at least 48 hours, discarding of the liquid on top from time to time. When it smells a little like cheese, it’s ready. You can keep it in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to a few months. Liquid might continue to accumulate on top of the butter, which can be discarded periodically. Hope this helps!