Fes Festival - Food Guide

One of the delights of the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music is the opportunity to explore the cuisine for which Morocco is justifiably famous. For visitors to Fez, here are some of our suggestions for top places to enjoy fine food. We offer seven of our favourites. If you are attending the whole festival, try one per day and you'll still have a couple of days to spare for some street food!

Moroccan food is incredibly diverse, thanks to the country’s interaction with a variety of cultures and nations over the centuries, including Amazigh (Berber), Moorish, Arab and Mediterranean influences. Spices feature extensively in Moroccan cooking and there is a centuries-old art to their careful balancing.

The Ruined Garden

The Ruined Garden is in the garden of Riad Idrissy and is a delightful, relaxed oasis. It will be opening its doors each day between 13.00 and 21.30.

The Ruined Garden is a delight

The Ruined Garden lunch menu will have will be more tapas this year and in the evening there will be the most famous Fez speciality - Pigeon B’Stella - a filo pastry pie stuffed with pigeon meat, spices, egg and toasted almonds with an orange and tomato salad and cinnamon and sugar. There will be no need to order a fixed price menu as it will be a main course dish. The Ruined Garden is still one of the few places in Fez to offer this on an a la carte menu (200 DH).

There are also a couple of dishes that are worth taking the time to order in advance.

Worthy of special mention is the slow-cooked (7 hour) lamb 'Mechwi' - 240 DH for 1 kilo (32 oz). It is a good dish to share and comes with a saffron, garlic, cumin and vegetable tagine (each extra kilo costs 180 DH).

Sephardic Saffron Chicken - 280 DH for one chicken, enough for two or three people. (Ask if you are a bigger group and need a larger bird.) This is poached with saffron, chickpeas, garlic, onion, eggs and stuffed with spiced minced beef.

Ice creams are also on the menu and to drink there is salty lemon and sprite and coke floats.

Contact: 06 49 19 14 10 or riadandgarden@gmail.com
13 Derb Idrissi, Sieje, Sidi Ahmed Chaoui. Ph 06 49 19 14 10  http://www.riadidrissy.com/

Moroccan mint makes the world's best mint tea

The Eden at Palais Amani

Gastro Pop-up in the Fez Medina - The Eden at Palais Amani. This is a boutique hotel just inside the Medina in Fez and another excellent place to eat. The Eden restaurant introduces guests to the diversity of Moroccan cuisine through the types of dishes found in Moroccan homes. The menus are revitalised with a twist of creativity and sophistication and brought to your table by their acclaimed chefs.

As part of the 23rd edition of Fez’s Sacred Music Festival, Eden will be running a three day Gastronomy Pop-Up event, in collaboration with Food and Friends.

Food and Friends are a duo - both born in Belgium; one with Italian/Indonesian roots the other Moroccan.

Carlo worked for years in Belgium, in iconic Michelin star restaurants such as Comme Chez Soi, De Slagmolen, Clos St Denis and De Bijgaarden. Noureddin has been running a hotel in Belgium with his partner. Today, Noureddin's sense of hospitality blends with Carlo's culinary talent and together they form Food and Friends.

They are passionate about high quality food from fresh and seasonal local products. Together they work on many private dining projects and are also involved in gastronomic pop-up events in Morocco and Belgium.

From the 12th to 14th May (inclusive) Food and Friends will be showcasing a delightful tasting menu available at lunch and before and after concerts.

For more information please contact Amilia Baha at salespalaisamani@gmail.com or +33 6 87 09 98 63 and for bookings please contact reservations@palaisamani.com

Cafe Clock - home of the camel burger

Cafe Clock

Over the last 10 years Cafe Clock has become a significant feature of Fez social and cultural life. It is is especially the place to head for the camel burgers. Service is efficient and the menu has something for everyone. Their coffee is particularly good. Cafe Clock is open 9am to 11pm and will have their regular events - storytelling, jamming and Sunday concerts. Workshops will also be available - Clock Kitchen, Calligraphy, Oud and henna.

Call into the Clock at 7 Derb el Magana off the Tala'a Kbira, to check out what else is happening there during the festival. https://www.facebook.com/Cafeclockfes/

Fez Cafe Restaurant 

Nestled within the grounds of the well known riad, Le Jardin des Biehn, is a surprisingly vast garden, designed in Andalusian style and encompassing both flower-lined walks and produce for the kitchen. The cafe, with its pastel coloured walls and doors open to the courtyard, is one of the most relaxed in Fez. The food drawing equally on Moroccan cuisine and that of Mediterranean France, is Fez fusion with  highlights including salmon tapenade, duck b’stella or the spiced goats cheese salad. They stock some reasonably priced local wines.

The colourful and cosy Fez Cafe at Jardin des Biehn has a gorgeous interior and also an outdoor garden setting. A great place to chill out between events.

Contact: 0664647679 or contact@jardindesbiehn.com

Nur

The opening of Nur restaurant in Fez was greeted with much excitement. For good reason. Chef Najat Kaanache presents seven courses of fine food with creativity and flair.

Nur presents fabulous food in creative ways

The Nur experience is such that it is probably best to reserve for a night when you are taking a break from the music, or heading to the Sufi performances at 11pm.

Find them at 7 Zkak Rouah in the Medina - make a reservation: phone: +212 6 94 27 78 49

Dar Roumana

Dar Roumana is a guesthouse on the north side of the medina, close to parking at Bab Guissa. it has wonderful medina views from the terrace and a great chef. Dar Roumana normally offers Fes Sacred Music Festival Special Pre-concert dinners.

Dar Roumana has a great atmosphere

Dar Roumana 30 Derb el Amer Zkak Roumane, Fes Medina  +212 660 29 04 04 (mobile) +212 535 741 637 www.darroumana.com

Maison Moi Anan

With his distinctive flair, fashion designer and chef Anan Sorsutham creates genuine Thai dishes, as if you were a guest in his home in Thailand.

Using the freshest of local ingredients, supplemented by imported herbs and spices, the subtle and authentic blend of flavours is an unexpected but exciting experience to find in the Fez Medina.

Maison Moi Anan is located in a traditional Fez house, which is tastefully decorated. On the ground floor is the boutique, where Anan’s latest fashion designs are on display. Upstairs offers a range of dining options from an elegant dining room, to a plant festooned terrace, to two intimate rooms that can be shared by up to six guests.

Find Maison Moi Anan at 30 Zkak El Ma, Chrablyen,
http://maisonmoianan.com
Tel: 06 52 49 73 91 / 05 35 63 57 13

Street Food

*STREET FOOD is good - take your pick of any of the sandwich places around Bab Boujloud and the market at the top of Tala'a Kebira. Choose your filling from the display and watch as it's cooked on the grill. For around 30 DH, you'll get half a round loaf, or a small baguette, stuffed with grilled chicken, tomatoes, onions and olives, or beef and liver, or merguez sausage. Chips or fried eggs are an optional extra. Many of the stalls also do vegetarian options with fried aubergine slices or green peppers.

*SELF-CATERERS are in for a treat with markets at the Bab Boujloud end of Tala'a Kebira and the huge market in R'cif. All sorts of meat (except pork, of course), fish and a wide array of fruit and vegetables are on display. Cheese is limited to a softish white variety wrapped in leaves - very tasty, too. You will find a wide range of recipes in The View From Fez Cookbook

*BAB BOUJLOUD: there's a wide selection of restaurants near the famous Blue Gate, from the well-known Thami's to Abdou's Restaurant Fassia, Restaurant Bouyyad, Rachid's and the Kasbah and several others. Choose one where the seat covers appeal to your sense of style (gold with large bows, polka dots or zebra stripes?) and enjoy a fairly standard range of Moroccan traditional dishes. A three-course meal with water or mint tea will set you back around 100 DH.

Feeling hungry? Then bookmark this page!

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Morocco's Hot Weather Arrives ~ Time for Date Milk !

The week ahead in Fez will bring days of 39 oto 41 degrees Celsius - in Marrakesh 41 to 42. So, before the heat arrives, stock the fridge with the number one heat survival drink - iced date milk with orange flower water and ground almonds

There are many recipes for date milk. Here are two of our favourites - The Basic and The Deluxe.

Basic Date Milk

15 whole dates, pitted and roughly chopped
250ml milk (you can use soy milk if you prefer)
Half a cup of ground almonds
1 tablespoon of orange flower water
A pinch of ground cinnamon or ground cardamom

Simply put ingredients into a blender on high power until it's well blended: thick and creamy.

The View from Fez Date Milk Deluxe

15 large pitted Medjool dates, chopped.
1 cup raw almonds,blanched (and brown skin removed).
4 - 5 cups of milk (to taste).
2 tablespoons of orange flower water.
1/2 teaspoon of genuine vanilla essence.
small pinch of salt.
1/2 tsp cinnamon.
1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg.

Blend until frothy and smooth. Leave in refrigerator for a couple of hours or if you are desperate, serve with ice cubes. Note: You can vary the ingredients and proportions to fine tune to your own taste. For an extra hit, add a chopped ripe banana!

For more Moroccan recipes please visit The View from Fez Cookbook

ENJOY!

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A New Moroccan Cookbook

Moroccan Cuisine from Mother to Daughter by Touria Agourram is expected in bookstores on October 2. The book is published by Albin Michel

Touria Agourram sets out 210 recipes and variations that have been transmitted from generation to generation of Moroccan daughters and mothers. In the book, prefaced by Fatima Mernissi, the author pays tribute to her mother and grandmother and points out that Moroccan women are custodians of the creative genius of this artistic and culinary skill.

Expressive, friendly and generous, the cookbook reveals the profusion of flavours and colours in  Moroccan cuisine. Each region has its own character and its specialties: the Southern and Berber recipes (mashed dried beans, semolina soup with caraway), the bittersweet nuances of the medinas of Marrakech (green salad with pears and walnuts, Harira pigeon) and Fez (grated carrot salad with orange, Lamb Tagine with quince), the freshness of the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts (stuffed with dates and almonds Fish, fish pastilla), not to mention the figs with honey, the horns of a gazelle, the Café Spice, Baklaoua ... and more.

In many countries or regions, cooking is an art long remained mere oral tradition, passed down from generation to generation. This book revives this culinary heritage and reminds us that the kitchen is also about love.

 Touria Agourram served as communications officer (public relations, press advertising) in the Moroccan National Tourist Office (ONMT) for more than 30 years and director of tourist offices in the Benelux Morocco between 1984 and 1988.

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"National Sardine Day" ~ Morocco is World's Top Producer

On the occasion of the "National Day of the Sardine", Minister of Agriculture, Aziz Akhannouch, said that Morocco is in a noble position, vis-a-vis the sardine. However, others claim it is a shame that the everyday fish of coastal folks is a luxury elsewhere in the country

"With nearly 57% of national fish production, Morocco is the world leader in the production of sardines" - Aziz Akhannouch:

The marine fisheries sector has recently undergone major advances especially with the upgrade of a large number of seaports, noted Aziz Akhannouch as part of the first edition of "Day of the Sardine".

President of the Moroccan Association for Consumer Protection, Dr Bouazza Kherrati, claims that in some regions of the country, particularly in the south, sardines can cost as much as 40 dirhams a kilo. He goes on to say that events such as the "Festival of the Sardine" should be held not only in coastal towns but in the interior as well.

Morocco currently has seven wholesale markets, 22 fishing ports, 22 halls for grading industrial fish (CAPI) and well-established fishing villages 40 km apart across the entire coast of Morocco. The Minister, Aziz Akhannouch, remarked that these facilities are effective in improving the productivity and competitiveness of the fishermen. The minister also noted that nearly 50 per cent of the domestic production of sardines has a development plan that provides a sustainability structure by introducing biological rest periods, quotas and areas closed to fishing, to ensure durability and conditions for reproduction.

Sardines have always held a special place in the food habits of Moroccans in terms of their nutritional value and price that remains accessible to all segments of society, Aziz Akhannouch noted, adding that the importance of the Sardine Festival is that it helps promote the characteristics and benefits of sardines.

The vice president of the Association of Owners of fishing port of Al Hoceima, Fikri Ould Chaib, agreed with the Minister and added that this first edition of the "Festival of the Sardine" is an opportunity to showcase the product fishing in the region characterized by a variety and quality that is renowned nationally and internationally.

Calling the meeting successful event Fikri Ould Chaib added that civil society is willing to work in coordination with the supervisory department for the development of the province.

 Initiated from August 27 to 31 by the National Fisheries Authority (NFA) in the context of the implementation of the strategy to promote seafood, "Day of the Sardine" is organized simultaneously in five beaches in the Kingdom - Al-Hoceima beach (Quemado) Martil beach, Agadir Beach (Taghazout) Dakhla beach, and Mehdia. This event aims to promote domestic consumption of fresh sardines and its value to the Moroccan public as ` flagship of the national fish production and awareness of the benefits of sardines for health.

As our contribution to "Sardine Day" The View from Fez offers a Moroccan Sardine Recipe - Chermoula Sardines

2 kg fresh sardines, double filleted or "butterflied"
1 cup of  Chermoula (see recipe below)
1/2 cup flour
vegetable oil for frying
Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 25 minutes.

Method

Place the sardine fillets skin-side down and spread the chermoula generously over the fish. Some people also place another sardine on top, skin side up. When sardines are all covered in chermoula set them aside to marinate (in the fridge is the best place.

When you are ready to cook, coat the sardines with a sprinkling of flour and cook in vegetable oil in a pan set on medium to high. Do make sure you have enough oil in the pan to cover the entire surface.

Cook in batches until golden (four to five minutes on each side), and then place on paper towels to absorb excess oil before transferring to a serving plate.

Fried stuffed sardines can be served hot or at room temperature

Chermoula

Chermoula can be used as a great dipping sauce for flatbread, but is traditionally used as a marinade. Superb on fish but fine on any other meat - or even vegetarian tagines.

To make one cup:

1 well washed bunch of fresh coriander.
3 large cloves of garlic, peeled and squashed.
1 teaspoon each of ground cumin, coriander and paprika.
1 small red chilli (remove the seeds!)
1/2 teaspoon of sea salt.
Juice of 1 large lemon
1/4 cup of olive oil.

Blend to a rough textured paste with a food processor or mortar and pestle.

**For a marinade - add 1/2 a tablespoon of tomato paste, 3 extra tablespoons of olive oil, 2 generous pinches of good quality saffron and 1/3 of a cup of water. After coating fish or chicken in the marinade, assemble in tagine and pour remainder over entire dish.

See more Moroccan Recipes in our Cookbooks Section

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So Hot and Sunny ~ Perfect for Sun Dried Fruit and Vegetables

Temperatures in Fez and many parts of Morocco are expected to rise over 40 degrees Celsius today. Sure, it's hot, but also with humidity under 60% it is perfect weather for making your own sun dried vegetables

Top of the list are tomatoes, which are exceptionally cheap at the moment.

Before and after - note the addition of herbs

Around the country Moroccans are laying out trays with tomatoes, zucchini and figs. With the vegetables they often sprinkle a generous amount of fresh herbs over them, usually basil and oregano. Some people also add crushed garlic and ground black pepper.

Dried figs are quick and easy to make

In this weather, it only takes a couple of days to produce great dried vegetables which can be stored either in local olive oil or in freezer bags and kept in the fridge.

Zucchini prepared for drying

Photos: Sandy McCutcheon & Suzanna Clarke

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Moroccan Photo of the Day ~Volubilis by Kimberley Lovato

Today's photo is by Kimberley Lovato, travel writer and author of Walnut Wine & Truffles - Culinary Adventures in the Dordogne

Click on image to enlarge

The View from Fez welcomes contributions for our photo of the day series. Our contact details can be found via link at the top of this page. See more Photos of the Day here


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Thirty-three Moroccan Recipes Using Argan Oil

Recently the wonderful "Green Prophet" website pointed us in the direction of a publication that features some more than thirty recipes for using argan oil. While the cosmetic industry as made inflated claims for the oil as a hair and skin product (and sold it at exorbitant prices), the flavour of argan by itself or as an additive to recipes, is not to be overlooked.

The book, The Gold of Arganeraie, contains more than thirty recipes that sound so tasty they will probably have you making a dash for the kitchen to try them out. A PDF version of the book is available for download here. The book is delightfully illustrated and contains detailed information about argan oil and the women who harvest and process it.

The book has been produced with the support of  the Slow Food Foundation and the Region of Piedmont with the aim of promoting and enhancing the activity of certain feminine cooperatives engaged in the production of argan oil in the Moroccan provinces of Agadir, Taroudant, Chtouka , Tiznit and Ait Baha.

Dates Filled With Cheese and Walnuts

Adapted from The Gold of Arganeraie

For 15 dates

15 stoned dates
30 grams walnuts, finely chopped
100 grams ricotta cheese
80 grams Roquefort cheese
1 teaspoon argan oil
salt

Preparation time: 1⁄2 hour

Mix the ricotta with the Roquefort and argan oil using a whisk. Salt to taste.
Add half the chopped walnuts and put in a pastry bag.
Fill the stoned dates with the cheese mixture and finally decorate with the remaining walnuts.

And, for our Francophone readers...

Soupe orkimen
Aisha Ibnou Al Kadi

Pour 8 personnes
4 jarrets de mouton
un demi-kilo d’épeautre
100 g de fèves sèches avec leur peau 2-3 épis de maïs
250 g de navets secs
50 g de lentilles
une olive
un verre d’huile d’argan
sel, poivre

Temps de préparation et cuisson: 6 heures, plus le trempage

La veille au soir, mettre l’épeautre dans de l’eau et le laisser tremper jusqu’au lendemain matin. Faire la même chose avec les fèves, les navets et les lentilles.

Prendre l’épeautre, le peler et le piler dans un mortier jusqu’à ce qu’il prenne pratiquement la consistance d’une farine. La filtrer dans une petite passoire et retirer les plus gros morceaux.

Mettre l’épeautre dans un plat à rôti et le laisser reposer – de préférence au soleil – jusqu’à ce qu’il soit sec. Faire bouillir les épis de maïs et enlever les grains cuits.

Prendre une casserole de grandes dimensions et y mettre la farine d’épeautre sèche, les fèves, les navets, les lentilles et le maïs à bouillir. Ajouter les quatre jarrets de mouton, le sel et le poivre. En fin de cuisson, ajouter l’huile d’argan et l’olive.

La recette d’origine dit qu’il faut cuire la soupe sur le charbon chaud pendant cinq à six heures. Autrement, on peut la faire cuire sur le poêle à bois. La soupe doit être très dense et versée bien chaude dans de grands bols.

La soupe que les Berbères de l’ethnie amazigh préparent pour la fête d’Orkimen est servie le soir du 31 décembre à toute la famille et aux amis invités. On met une olive dans la soupe: celui qui la trouve, ce soir-là, est la personne la plus chanceuse du groupe.

See our story on argan oil hair rip-offs here

Great Moroccan recipes in our View From Fez Cookbook

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A Refreshing New Take on Moroccan Cuisine

There are many books on Moroccan cuisine available and most contain what one might describe as  "the usual suspects" - the same recipes trotted out time and again. So it is refreshing to find a book that takes a different approach.  New Moroccan, by Mourad Lahlou is a tasty marriage of tradition and innovation.

Mourad Lahlou's  New Moroccan is really two books in one. It begins with seven cooking classes that will give you the fundamental building blocks of Moroccan cuisine and follows it up with a wonderful collection of recipes.

Lahlou was born in Casablanca before moving to Marrakech. After moving to the United States he abandoned a degree in economics to open a restaurant. His Azizz restaurant in San Francisco is the only Moroccan restaurant in North America to be awarded a Michelin star.

"Let me tell you why I wrote this book. It wasn't because I thought the world needed another Moroccan cookbook with essential classic recipes. And it wasn't because I'm looking to evolve Moroccan cuisine or take it someplace it doesn't want to go. I think of what I'm doing as evolving my cuisine and that's what this book is really about." - Mourad Lahlou

Warqa

In the first section of the book, Lahlou pays attention to the basics, with a comprehensive look at spices, preserved lemons, couscous, warqa (paper-thin pastry), harrissa, charmoula and tagine cooking.

The chapter on spices also contains a selection of spice mixes such as ras el hanout, his own restaurants curry blend as well as Ethiopian Berbere.

If you have never attempted to make your own preserved lemons, Lahlou's easy to follow instructions will have you set to become an expert.

When it comes to couscous, Lahlou will convince you never to buy the quick-cook packets ever again. Sure, hand-rolling couscous takes a little time, but the end result is worth every minute of it.

The recipe chapters are crammed with mouth-watering temptations such as a Berbere-cured chicken liver mousse garnished with pickled green strawberries or a delicious combination of braised artichokes, cipollini onions in cumin broth. Some of the gems, such as chicken bouillon with wheat berries and salt-baked tomato are quick and easy, while others such as basteeya are more complex, but certainly worth the effort.  The modern version using phyllo with rainbow chard and edible flowers is superb.

Chicken bouillon, wheat berries and salt-baked tomato

For dessert lovers, New Moroccan offers some fabulous recipes such as a lavender-almond roulade, a chocolate-star anise cremeux, chocolate gingersnaps and the outrageously delicious curry ice cream.

chocolate gingersnaps

New Moroccan by Mourad Lahlou (with Suzie Heller, Steve Siegelman and Amy Vogler) is published by Artisan.  The sumptuous photographs in the book are by Deborah Jones. 

New Moroccan is available in Morocco from the bookshop at the American Language Center in Fez.  It can also be purchased online - click on image below.



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Growing Basil in Fez - Food or Mosquito repellent?

Basil is a common name for the culinary herb Ocimum basilicum, of the family Lamiaceae, sometimes known as Saint Joseph's Wort in some English-speaking countries. Ask most Moroccans about basil and they will tell you that it is grown to deter mosquitos. Few of them use it as a flavouring herb. That is such a pity as the flavour is exquisite.

Pot-grown Basil in Fez with leaves up to 12 cm in length! 

The variety of basil commonly grown in Morocco is a smaller-leafed variety, possibly a form of O. kilimandscharicum which has a camphor concentration of 61%.  The use of basil as a mosquito deterrent by Moroccans is not simply folk-wisdom. A study of the essential oils shows anti-fungal and insect-repelling properties. A study reported in 2009 has confirmed that extracts from the plant are very toxic to mosquitos.

Basil is considered a valuable antioxidant and also used for its medicinal properties in Ayurveda, the traditional medicinal system of India and Siddha medicine, a traditional Tamil system of medicine.

A Moroccan variety of small-leaf basil

A more exotic use of basil if referred to in an African legend that claims that basil protects against scorpions, while the English botanist Culpeper cites one "Hilarius, a French physician" as affirming it as common knowledge that smelling basil too much would breed scorpions in the brain.

All of that aside, its use in salad or pesto shows its flavours off superbly and with such prolific growth this season in Fez, it is time to start enjoying it.

While one can give pesto a slightly Moroccan flavour by substituting coriander for basil, genuine pesto can be given a Moroccan twist by the inclusion of a small amount of preserved lemon.

Fresh Basil Pesto with Moroccan Twist
(Great with fried chicken pieces on pasta)
Prep time: 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS
2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts
3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
4-5 thin strips of preserved lemon rind (rinsed)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Special equipment needed: A food processor

METHOD
1 Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. (If you are using walnuts instead of pine nuts and they are not already chopped, pulse them a few times first, before adding the basil.) Add the garlic and preserved lemon strips, pulse a few times more.
2 Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Serve with pasta, or over baked potatoes, or spread over toasted baguette slices.
Yield: Makes 1 cup.

ENJOY!

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Recipe for Msemen (Moroccan square pancake)

Layla Dahamou, writing for Morocco World News has an authentic recipe for Msemen. Msemen is a square-shaped Moroccan pancake known also to some Moroccans as “Rghaif” or “Mlawi”. They are dough-based and take quite considerable time to be prepared in the traditional way. Generally, Msemen is prepared for breakfast and sometimes as an evening snack. It always goes with Moroccan tea, but some people would serve it with milk-coffee. It may be sweetened by honey or jam for those who would like it sweet.

Ingredients

500g flour
200g fine semolina
2 tsp salt
¼ tsp yeast
1.5 cups warm water
Preparation:

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl, gradually adding water while kneading. Add more water when necessary just to make cohesive dough, for 10 minutes (or knead the dough in a stand mixer for 5 minutes), until the dough is very cohesive and soft .

Set out some oil, fine semolina flour, and soft butter. They will be used when shaping the dough to make balls of equal size.

Make balls of equal size
Prepare a large, smooth surface for working with the dough. A large plastic tray is very useful. So as not to have the dough stuck on the surface, spread some oil on it.

Keep your hands and the dough well-oiled and grasp a large portion of dough and squeeze off a ball between your thumb and forefinger to form small balls of nearly equal size.

Put the balls on an oiled tray. To keep the balls in good conditions, spread oil on them, and cover them loosely with plastic so as not to be dry.

Pat the balls to from thin discs
Set aside the balls for few minutes before working with them .

Take a ball, dip it in oil, and flatten the balls to make very thin discs.

Grease the discs with butter and then sprinkle the dough with a little semolina. This will help keep the folded layers separate when the Msemen is cooked.

Fold the edges of the discs into the center to make a square, and place them aside on an oiled surface.

Fold edges to make squares
Repeat the process until all the balls have been folded into squares.

Heat a frying pan or an iron skillet over medium high heat.

Work on every square of dough separately by patting it with your fingers or palm of your hand to extend to nearly double size.

Place the Msemen in the pan and fry it. Flip it regularly until the two sides are well cooked. This should take several minutes.

make sure the two sides are well cooked
Repeat the same procedure for all the rest.

Serve hot with honey or jam and Moroccan tea.

Bonne Appétit!

.





FOR MORE GREAT RECIPES VISIT THE VIEW FROM FEZ COOKBOOK

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