North Africa · Side
Tafarnout (Amazigh Flatbread Baked Over River Stones)
Crusty, dimpled sourdough flatbread baked directly over scorching smooth river stones inside traditional earthen ovens of the Anti-Atlas.
The story
Hailing from the arid valleys of the Souss-Massa region and the rugged Anti-Atlas mountains, Tafarnout is the ancestral hearth bread of the Amazigh people. Traditionally prepared by women in outdoor clay ovens called 'afarnu' fueled by argan shell embers and dry palm fronds, this bread is baked daily to accompany morning bowls of pure argan oil, honey, amlou, or slow-cooked meat tagines. Baking the wet dough directly upon a bed of scorching basalt river pebbles creates uneven pockets of conductive heat, resulting in a cratered undercarriage optimized for soaking up sauces.
Cook this next
Atay bi Naa-Naa (Gunpowder Green Tea with Fresh Spearmint)
A ritualistic, frothy infusion of gunpowder green tea, bruised spearmint, and sugar poured from high to create the crowning rezza foam.
Babbouche (Herbal Broth-Stewed Land Snails)
Tender wild land snails simmered in an intensely aromatic, therapeutic broth infused with bitter orange peel, wild thyme, licorice root, and caraway.
Baghrir (Semolina Honeycomb Thousand-Hole Pancakes)
Lacy, spongy semolina pancakes riddled with delicate honeycomb bubbles, saturated in warm orange blossom honey and melted butter.
Bastilla bil Djaj (Moroccan Spiced Chicken and Almond Pie)
Crispy layers of warqa pastry encasing shredded saffron chicken, caramelized onion-egg reduction, and toasted cinnamon-orange almonds.