Dafina (also called skhina, 'the hot one') is the central dish of Moroccan-Jewish Sabbath cookery, and it exists because of a religious law: on the Sabbath, from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown, lighting or tending a fire is forbidden. Dafina is assembled on Friday afternoon, placed on a low blech or in a slow oven, and left untouched until Saturday lunch, when it is opened and served. The overnight cook turns the eggs brown — the shells stain from the long heat, and the whites darken to a mahogany color and develop a firm, almost chewy texture that is prized. Moroccan-Jewish cuisine is one of the great unrecognized sub-cuisines of the region, and dafina is its emblematic dish, carried by Moroccan Jews to Israel, France and the Americas.
The beef is falling apart, the chickpeas are silky, the wheat berries hold their chew, the potatoes have soaked up everything, and the brown eggs have a firm, smoky-tasting white and a soft yolk. It tastes like it was cooked for sixteen hours, which it was.
Dafina is a slow-heat technique and the whole dish rests on the temperature being low enough to simmer without ever boiling dry over 12-16 hours. The eggs' browning is a slow Maillard reaction in the albumen proteins, which at 80-90 degrees over many hours gradually darken and firm up — the same chemistry that turns a 4-minute egg's white rubbery if you forget it, but here it is the desired result. The wheat berries and chickpeas hydrate slowly and evenly in the meat broth, never shocking, so they stay intact rather than bursting. The potato at the bottom of the pot dissolves into the sauce, thickening it naturally.
Variations
Every family has a different dafina: some add honey and dates for a sweet note, some add spicy whole peppers stuffed with cumin. The Iraqi-Jewish t'bit is a close cousin using chicken and rice.
On the Palate
Where Dafina sits in the Moroccan flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 8
How it's made
6 steps · 30 min
- 110 min
In a large heavy pot, layer: 1 kg beef short ribs or brisket, 1 cup chickpeas (soaked), 1 cup wheat berries (soaked), 1 cup rice in a cloth bag, 4 peeled potatoes, 6 whole eggs in their shells, 2 whole garlic heads, 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp paprika, salt, and water to cover.
- 25 min
Bring to a boil on the stove; skim; then cover tightly and transfer to a 90 degree C oven (or place on a blech over the lowest possible flame).
Watch outBring it to a boil and skim, then seal tight before it goes into the low oven — a good seal is what lets it hold heat overnight without ever boiling dry.
- 35 min
Leave undisturbed for 12-16 hours, overnight, until Saturday lunch.
- 45 min
Before serving, remove the eggs; peel them — the whites will be brown and firm.
Watch outThe eggs are the tell: after the long slow cook their whites should be brown and firm — that slow color change means the pot held the right gentle heat all night.
- 55 min
Remove the rice bag; slice open. Arrange the meat, chickpeas, wheat, potatoes and rice on a platter.
- 63 min
Halve the brown eggs and arrange on top; serve the broth in bowls alongside.
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