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Recipeother Vegetarian

Ayaou M Semmen

this is a moroccan flaky flat almost crepe like bread. best eaten warm it is well loved here for breakfast with butter, sugar, honey, cinnamon, ground almonds or a combination of these. as street food it is nearly always delicious and made at home is even better! we also stuff these with sweet mixtures such as roughly ground almonds and sugar or honey and love them stuffed savory with onions, parsley, tomato and if i have any, leftover crumbled hajar's zweena beef kefta or a combination. the beef is certainly not obiligatory!! be careful to oil, oil, oil, your hands and surfaces well! i have worn m'semmen many times due to lack of oil. i can still remember the smile on mohamed's face when i told him that i made m'semmen long before coming to morocco. for more info, visit the african forum where i have a column and others make wonderful contributions! 2005

complex5 ingredients14 preparation steps
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Ingredients

  • flour
  • salt
  • water
  • butter
  • vegetable oil

Preparation

  1. 1make a well in the center of the flour , place the salt in the well and add the water small amounts at a time
  2. 2knead well to form a very smooth dough
  3. 3using well oiled hands , make balls the size of a tangerine and place them on an oiled surface
  4. 4counter top , table , marble block etc
  5. 5spread out the balls one by one with the palm of your oiled hand stretching the dough gently in all directions until it is very thin
  6. 6fold in the 4 sides to form a square approximately 3-4 inches in size
  7. 7cook briefly in a well buttered skillet on both sides until lightly browned
  8. 8served with honey or sugar these are a wonderful breakfast or snack
  9. 9we also stuff them before folding with sweet mixtures such as ground almonds and sugar or with onions , parsley , and spices
  10. 10meat can be added as well
  11. 11we like to stuff them with my precooked kefta but always with onions , parsley and tomato , fresh thinly sliced then diced tomato , pounded tomato or a small bit of tomato concentrate
  12. 12if stuffing , these are always stuffed thinly , not as bulging pockets
  13. 13the number of servings is an approximation and has to be as no 2 people make them into the exact same sized pieces
  14. 14cooking time is for cooking an entire batch