Egyptian Style Stuffed Potatoes with Ground Beef & Tomato Sauce

Egyptian Style Stuffed Potatoes with Ground Beef & Tomato Sauce

Stuffed potatoes are a comforting dish made by hollowing out potatoes, lightly frying them, and filling them with a savory meat mixture before baking them in a rich tomato sauce. The result is tender potatoes with a hearty, flavorful center that soak up the sauce beautifully. While variations of stuffed potatoes exist in different cuisines, this dish holds a special place in Egyptian culture, where it is especially popular for family gatherings and home-cooked meals.

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Ingredients

(Seasonings should be added to taste.)

For the Tomato Sauce:

• 1 yellow onion, diced

• 6 garlic cloves, minced

• 3 pounds tomatoes, diced

• ground coriander

• ground cumin

• sea salt

• black pepper

• water

For the Stuffed Potatoes:

• 5 pounds russet potatoes

• olive oil

• 1 yellow onion, diced

• 6 garlic cloves, minced

• 2 pounds 80% lean ground beef

• ground coriander

• ground nutmeg

• sea salt

• black pepper

•  ½ cup tomato sauce, homemade

• 6 jalapeños

• fresh cilantro, chopped

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Instructions

Preparing the Tomato Sauce

Start this recipe by making the tomato sauce. Fry diced onions with minced garlic until fragrant, then add diced tomatoes. Season with ground coriander, ground cumin, sea salt, and black pepper. Add a splash of water and mix everything well before blending with an immersion blender. Blend until the sauce is smooth and velvety.

Preparing the Potatoes

Wash the potatoes thoroughly to remove any dirt. Peel them completely, then cut one end flat so each potato can stand upright. Trim the tops so all the potatoes are the same height. Using a vegetable corer, carefully hollow out the centers to create potato cups— it should look like little cylinders with hollow centers. Don’t throw away the potato tops or cores— save them for later.

Next, heat a pan with a little olive oil and fry the potato cups for a couple of minutes on each side. This will help them hold their shape during baking. Once they develop some golden color, remove them from the heat and immediately season with sea salt and black pepper.

Preparing the Ground Beef Filling

In the same pan used for the potatoes, fry diced onions with minced garlic in olive oil until fragrant. Add the ground beef (lahma) and break it up while cooking. Season with ground coriander, ground nutmeg, sea salt, and black pepper, then mix well. Once the beef has browned, turn off the heat and stir in a small amount of the homemade tomato sauce for extra flavor.

Stuffing the Potatoes

Fill each fried potato cup with the seasoned beef mixture, going all the way up to the rim. Arrange the stuffed potatoes in a large baking dish. Add the saved potato tops and cores to fill in the gaps between the potatoes. For optional added heat, you can also include jalapeños stuffed with the beef mixture.

Baking the Dish

Pour the homemade tomato sauce over the stuffed potatoes until it nearly reaches the top of the cups. If you prefer a thinner sauce, add a splash of water before pouring. Give the baking dish a gentle shake to help everything settle. Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F for at least 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork tender.

Serving

Once baked, remove the dish from the oven. Garnish the stuffed potatoes with fresh cilantro before serving. These golden, tender potato cups filled with savory beef and rich tomato sauce are now ready to enjoy.