Maftoul

Maftoul is a couscous with a hint of nutty flavor typical of Palestine that is very easy to prepare.

Its name comes from the Arabic root “fa-ta-la”, which means “to twist” or “to turn”. The wheat is boiled, then sun-dried and split, and stretched by hand over freshly ground organic whole wheat flour and then steamed and sun-dried again. Like couscous, maftoul is traditionally cooked with chickpeas to give it a little more body and onions sautéed in clarified butter to add flavor. Some spices are also added to give depth and complexity to this simple dish.

 

While the terms couscous, moghrabieh or maftoul may seem at first glance to be complicated tongue twisters, they are in fact three very versatile and tasty variations of hand-rolled pasta.

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