Msemen

Msemen is made from a soft semolina and flour dough that is divided into balls, rested, and then stretched by hand on an oiled surface until it is thin enough to see through - which is the skill and takes practice - then brushed with oil and often a little semolina, folded into a square in several turns to build layers, and cooked on a flat griddle until the layers separate and the outside crisps. It is a breakfast bread, eaten hot with honey and butter, with amlou, with cheese, or filled before folding with a mixture of onion, tomato and spices, in which case it becomes a meal. Women make it in quantity at home and street carts sell it from early morning in every city, folded into paper. Rghaif is the same thing under another name in some regions, and harsha, a semolina cake, is what sits next to it on the same cart.

What you actually see

• Stretched to transparency - the dough pulled thin enough to see through before folding.
• Layers from folding - the turns building the flakiness on the griddle.
• A breakfast bread - hot with honey and butter, or filled and made a meal.
• Morning carts - sold from early in every city, folded into paper.

When to go

All year; early morning when the carts are working. An hour.

Honest expectations

It is best straight off the griddle and disappointing cold. Street cart hygiene varies. It is heavy in oil by construction. Filled versions vary enormously in quality.

Nearby

Every medina and city street in Morocco has a morning cart.