Mafrum

Mafrum, also spelled mafroom, is a Libyan Jewish stuffed vegetable dish. Root vegetables are hollowed out and filled with a blend of ground meat and spices, then fried and simmered in a tomato-based sauce. Potatoes are the vegetable typically used, although some recipes employ eggplants, zucchinis, onions or bell peppers. The dish is traditionally served with couscous and eaten during Shabbat and Jewish holidays. It spread beyond Libya because of the mass Jewish exodus from the country in the 1950s and 1960s. In Italy, mafrum was introduced to the Jewish community of Rome after Libyan Jews were evacuated following the Six-Day War in 1967. In Israel it became a popular dish, with interpretations by Jews from Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt.