The Washington Post
By Jane Touzalin / Food
When you have a hankering for something Moroccan, try these savory rolls with chicken and cinnamon — one of the Moroccan-inspired dishes in Recipe Finder (see link below). (Deb Lindsey/FOR THE WASHINGTON POST)
Wherein I answer a leftover question from last week’s Free Range chat:
In Morocco recently, we were given some delightful nibbles with our drinks. I would like to make them at home, but I don’t know what they are. They were pastry, about the texture of a cheese straw. They were cut into olive-size nuggets, like cheese straws cut down. There were orange ones in one bowl and green in the other. They had a wonderful, subtle, spiced flavor. Can you identify them?
I can’t, but I am not too proud to ask for help. And I seem to have asked just the right person! Reda Bouizar is the general manager (and chef’s nephew) at Mazagan, a Moroccan restaurant in Arlington. He guesses that you were treated to fekka, pronounced feh-KAH, which are commonly served with tea, coffee and other beverages.
[More Chat Leftovers: how to smoke tofu; which measuring cup to use ]
If so, you’re in luck, because there’s no shortage of fekka recipes on the Internet. They come in both sweet and savory forms, and in many iterations of each. The sweet ones are usually baked twice and seem a lot like biscotti; the savory ones are baked either once or twice. The dough is rolled out into a log that can be thick or thin (like a cheese straw). Most often the pastries are larger than what you were served, but Moroccan food expert Christine Benlafquih has several recipes for “petite fekkas,”and they seem like what you describe.
These little treats look delicious, interestingly spiced and easy to make. So I’ll probably be baking up a batch about the same time you are! When I do, they’ll be added to our Recipe Finder, where you can find plenty of other Moroccan, or Moroccan-inspired dishes, including Moroccan Chicken Cinnamon Rolls; Sweet Couscous; Chicken Bistilla; Moroccan Honeycomb Pancakes and Moroccan Ratatouille With Dates.
Have culinary questions of your own? Then you’ll want to be a part of today’s Free Range chat. Tamar Haspel, who writes this week about the much-dissed tilapia, will be a guest. Other timely topics: Alex Witchel’s piece about groundbreaking California chef Nancy Silverton; and Maura Judkis on chef Patrick O’Connell’s long road to Michelin stars. The online discussion starts at noon — and we’re taking Thanksgiving questions already!
