← Nouns Cooking · Moroccan

Ingredients

• 300 g fine semolina
• 75 g Plain (all-purpose) flour
• 1 tsp Salt, divided
• 230 ml warm water (roughly)
• 100 ml vegetable oil, for shaping and cooking
• 4 Onion, thinly sliced
• 3 tbsp Olive oil
• 3 Tomato, peeled and diced
• 2 cloves Garlic, crushed (optional)
• 1 tsp ground chilli or hot paprika
• ½ tsp Black pepper
• 1 tsp Harissa (optional)

Method

1. Mix the semolina, flour and half the salt. Add the water a little at a time and knead for 10 min to a very soft, smooth, stretchy dough. Cover and rest for 15 min, then knead briefly again.
2. Oil your hands, divide the dough into 8 balls, coat them in oil, cover and rest for 15 min more.
3. For the filling, cook the onions in the olive oil over medium-low heat for 15 min until soft and translucent. Add the tomatoes, garlic, chilli, pepper, harissa and the rest of the salt, cover and simmer for 15 min, stirring, until thick and jammy. Leave to cool.
4. Oil the worktop. Flatten a ball and stretch it with oiled fingers into a very thin sheet, about 30 cm across; it is fine if it tears a little.
5. Spoon 2 tbsp of filling into the middle and fold in the four sides to make a square parcel about 12 cm wide.
6. Cook in a hot, lightly oiled frying pan over medium heat for 3–4 min per side until golden and crisp in spots. Repeat with the rest and serve warm.

Tips

• Contains wheat. Keep the dough balls well oiled so they stretch without sticking.
• Popular extras in the filling: a little tuna or a spoon of minced meat (then it is no longer vegetarian).

Sources

Adapted from “Mhadjeb (Algerian Stuffed Flatbread)” in the Wikibooks Cookbook, under CC BY-SA 4.0. This adaptation is shared under the same licence.

Amour de Cuisine (French)