Ingredients Print

Check off ingredients as you go

Serves 8-10

For the msoki

• 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) beef cheek or shank, cut into pieces
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 3-4 carrots
• 2-3 zucchini (courgettes)
• 1 shallot or scallion
• 1 tomato or 1 Tbsp tomato paste (optional)
• 1 stalk cardoon, blanched and peeled (optional)
• 2-3 turnips
• 1 large kohlrabi
• 2 stalks celery, leaves removed, thinly sliced
• 800 g-1 kg (1.75-2.2 lb) spinach, whole leaf (drained if frozen)
• 1/3 green (or white) cabbage
• 3 large handfuls baby fava beans (broad beans)
• 3 large handfuls peas
• 8 artichoke bottoms
• 1 handful green beans (optional)
• 1/2 bunch cilantro (coriander), chopped
• 1 bunch mint, chopped
• 1/2 bunch parsley, chopped
• 1 head garlic, chopped (5 cloves)
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 5 dried rosebuds, petals separated
• 1 Tbsp sunflower oil
• Salt, pepper
• 1 Tbsp harissa (to taste)

To serve

• 6 round matzos (broken into pieces)

For the asbana

• 250 g (9 oz) ground beef (minced beef),
• a handful of chopped spinach (about 100 g / 3.5 oz),
• 1/2 bunch parsley/cilantro, chopped,
• 1 bunch mint,
• 1 large onion, chopped,
• 2-3 cloves garlic,
• 1 pinch cinnamon,
• a few dried rose petals,
• 1 handful rice,
• 1 tsp ground coriander,
• 1 tsp ground fennel, (optional)
• salt, pepper,
• 1 tsp harissa (to taste)
• 2 egg yolks, no whites

If you change the number of serving, consider adjusting cooking times!

Read the whole recipe through first to understand how it comes together. Asbana is traditionally a stuffing made with offal and cooked in a casing; I make it as meatballs and cook them on top of the vegetables.

1. Get out a very large bowl (and some patience), and cut the vegetables into 1.5 cm (½ inch) cubes.

2. In a large pressure cooker, brown the meat, cut into pieces, with the onion, cover with water and cook under pressure for 35-40 minutes. Set the meat aside and keep the cooking liquid.

For the asbana

In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients, shape into slightly elongated meatballs and set them on a plate; they will cook with the vegetables.

3. In the same pot, pour in 1 Tbsp sunflower oil, add all the vegetables, herbs and spices, and sweat the vegetables over low heat for about ten minutes. Add the meat cooking liquid, cover with water just to the level of the vegetables (add the asbana meatballs if you are making them) and cook under pressure for another 15-20 minutes. Open to check that everything is done. Return the meat to the pot once everything is cooked.

4. When you reheat the dish, 30 minutes before serving, add the round matzos broken into pieces.

Tips and variations

• In my family’s tradition there are no potatoes, no bell peppers and no cauliflower.
• Some people add dill.
• The asbana can also be cooked in an oven bag, shaped into a long sausage; in that case, don’t pack it too tightly and prick a few holes in it if needed, because the rice swells as it cooks.
• Add a piece of lamb to cook with the beef, if you like.
• If you don’t have a pressure cooker, it will need 3-4 hours of cooking.