← Nouns Cooking · Moroccan

Ingredients

• 500 g medium semolina
• 1 pinch Salt
• 180 g smen or ghee, melted and warm
• 4 tbsp Orange flower water, divided
• 120 ml water (roughly)
• 300 g Date paste
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground cloves
• 15 g Butter, softened
• 250 g Honey

Method

1. Put the semolina and salt in a wide bowl, pour over the warm ghee and rub it between your palms for 5 min until every grain is coated. Cover and leave for 1 hour.
2. Knead the date paste with the cinnamon, cloves, butter and 1 tbsp of the orange flower water until soft, then roll it into ropes about 1.5 cm thick.
3. Mix 2 tbsp of the orange flower water with the water and sprinkle it over the semolina a little at a time, gathering it gently into a soft dough. Do not knead, or the makrout will be hard.
4. Take a handful of dough, roll it into a log 4 cm thick and press a channel along the top with your finger. Lay a date rope in it, close the dough over and roll gently to seal. Flatten to about 2 cm high, mark the top with a fork and cut into 4 cm diamonds.
5. Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Bake on a tray for 25–30 min until golden underneath and pale gold on top.
6. Warm the honey with the remaining orange flower water. Dip the warm makrout in it for 1 minute, then drain on a rack and leave to cool.

Tips

• Contains wheat and dairy. No date paste? Blitz soft pitted dates with a spoon of butter until smooth.
• Fried makrout is the other traditional version: fry the diamonds in hot oil until golden before dipping.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Amour de Cuisine 196 flavors Cooking With Alia