Breakfast

Name: Moroccan Oatmeal: Hrbil
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients: 1 cup of dry wheat grains (wheat berries); 1 Tbsp olive oil; 1/2 cup whole milk; water; melted butter; olive oil; honey

My Favorite Moroccan Breakfast: Hrbil

12:02 pm by Amanda Mouttaki 4 Comments

Winter comes slow and late to Marrakech. One day we’re sweating, wondering when the heat will finally break and then suddenly there’s a rain storm one day that snaps the weather awake to realize it’s time to change seasons. Reluctantly the weather wavers for a few weeks. Alternating between those scorching hot days and dreary, rainy ones. A sandstorm might blow through and then we’re lurched into winter.

But this too is beautiful.

The haze in front of the High Atlas lifts, giving way to the beautiful mountain backdrop that makes my heart sing. It’s a sight I wait for all year. Rarely do the mountains appear until they’re capped with snow, leaving many people to believe they have snow all the time (they don’t). The clear, sunny winter days are what I love waking up to. I just really hate leaving my bed!

Few people, including us, have indoor heating. We really don’t need it. Winter will only last two or maybe three months and it will never get to freezing – even though some days feel like it. An extra blanket on the bed, a space heater tucked under the desk, and taking advantage of every chance to warm up the house when the sun shines make it possible. You see Morocco is a cold country with a warm sun. The sun changes everything and even in the middle of winter is warm.

Our morning start a little later now but it’s still just barely light when the kids get up for school. I love a warm bowl of oatmeal in the morning with nuts and brown sugar. But, I also love the Moroccan version of oatmeal – that’s not made with oats at all – called hrbil. Normally it’s only made for special occasions. It’s always on the table the morning of Eid al Adha and Eid al Fitr. But, I’ve also made it and saved it in the refrigerator to heat up the next day. It’s always better right after it’s made.

Moroccan Oatmeal: Hrbil

Yield: 8 servings

A delicious breakfast dish served during Eid and other special occasions in Morocco.

Ingredients

1 cup of dry wheat grains (wheat berries)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup whole milk
water

For the Top

melted butter
olive oil
honey

Instructions

Soak the wheat in water overnight. The longer you soak this the faster it will cook.
When you're ready to cook, add the olive oil to a pressure cooker and drain the water from the wheat.
Add the wheat to the pressure cooker and stir to coat with olive oil.
Add enough water to fill pressure cooker about 1/2 full.
Cover and cook on medium temperature for about 45 minutes – 1 hour. You will need to check the water level of this often. The goal is to cook out all the water so that the wheat plumps to it’s maximum.
You can test the water level by holding the pressure cooker off the heat and swirling around.
When you feel most the water has been cooked out, release the steam and remove the cover.
If there is some water left, continue to cook on low – medium heat until it has been mostly removed.
Stir in the milk, until the consistency is a little more liquid than porridge.
Fill a bowl or large rimmed plate with the grains.
In the middle create a small well and add olive oil, butter, and honey.

Recipe for Hrbil, a Moroccan breakfast popular at Eid.

15 Minute Doughnuts

10:00 am by Amanda Mouttaki 1 Comment

Unexpected company show up for breakfast or brunch? In 15 minutes you can have a hot plate of doughnuts on the table! Pair with cold glasses of milk and fresh fruit for a perfect – albeit last minute – meal!

I regularly make many things from scratch, however time is always an issue for me. There are a lot of shortcuts I rely on to make meals easier – and especially breakfast time.

I have lived most of my life in the “dairy state,” and so a lot of my meal inspiration comes from dairy products. I shop the perimeter of markets, and the final stop in my circle is the refrigerated dairy section.

Some staples I always grab are; milk (of course!), shredded cheeses, jalapeno hummus (MarocBaba’s favorite), ricotta cheese, Greek yogurt, pre-sliced hashbrowns, and eggs. One of the items I occasionally pick up is refrigerated biscuit dough.

It’s so affordable and can be used in hundreds of ways – besides making biscuits! I flatten biscuits to make pizza roll ups for my kids, or cut in half and press into a muffin tin to make taco cups. But, my favorite use of biscuit dough is to make these doughnuts.

Making doughnuts from scratch takes way more than 15 minutes and can be finicky. Buying doughnuts can cost as much as $1 each. By using biscuit dough, I’ve made 8 for about $0.30 each.

Not only do you get the doughnuts but little doughnut holes too! To shape them, I use a melon baller to take out the centers. On a plate, the dough is then rolled in cinnamon and sugar – and baked. Of course you can use any number of toppings to flavor these. It’s just a start!

15 Minute Doughnuts

Yield: 8 doughnuts

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes

Total Time: 22 minutes

An easy way to make doughnuts using ready-made biscuit dough.

Ingredients

1 tube of biscuit dough
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar

Instructions

Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper or silpat and preheat oven to the temperature indicated on the biscuit dough.
On a plate add the cinnamon and sugar and mix to combine.
Open the biscuit dough and use a melon baller to cut out a center of each biscuit.
Roll the centers in cinnamon and sugar.
Coat each doughnut in cinnamon and sugar and space out on cookie sheet. (Note – the biscuits won’t spread much).
Place centers in open spots on cookie sheet.
Bake 10-12 minutes until doughnuts are cooked through.
Eat hot with a big glass of milk!

Notes

You'll also need the following tools;

melon baller
parchment paper or silpat
cookie sheet

Peanut Butter Protein Balls

10:00 am by Amanda Mouttaki 3 Comments

I can’t believe how fast April is flying by! We’ve been busy and I have to say I haven’t been cooking a lot. It’s been easy things that I can pull together fast or relying on meals I’ve prepped and stored in the freezer. Speaking of which, I’ll be sharing a post next week to fill you in on freezer cooking.

It’s part of my real food on a budget series and I have to tell you, this has been revolutionary for me. I have another batch of meals to prep this weekend so I’ll be taking you with from beginning to end. Make sure you’re following me on Instagram as I post pictures through the process. If you’re not on Instagram, don’t worry I’ll be posting pictures in the post Wednesday too.

In the chaos that has been our life lately, breakfast has been really hard for me to squeeze in. I’ve never really liked to eat breakfast so it’s a stretch for me to get anything in. As weird as this may sound, I also struggle with eating regularly in general.

After having my weight loss surgery, I also lost most of appetite. I have to force myself to eat. It might sound like a great problem to have but I assure you – it’s not. My sister always gives me a hard time about not eating and/or drinking protein shakes. I admit if eating doesn’t sound good, drinking is even harder.

She shared this recipe with me for protein balls to help me boost the amount of protein I get, and to have something around that I can just pick up and eat when I walk by the fridge. We affectionately refer to them as mommy balls. (It’s a long story!) They feel like a snack and with the addition of protein power I can get some extra nutrients too.

Really, these are perfect for anyone who needs a breakfast or snack to grab and go.

Peanut Butter Protein Balls

Yield: 16 balls

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

This is a simple recipe to make a snack using protein powder and other simple ingredients.

Ingredients

Protein Ball Ingredients

3 Tbsp PB2 powder
4 Tbsp all-natural peanut butter or other nut butter
1 cup protein powder of choice (plain or vanilla works best)
1/2 c quick cook oats
1 Tbsp flax seed meal
1 Tbsp chia seeds
4-6 Tbsp raw honey

Instructions

In a bowl, mix the PB2 powder with water until a paste is formed. It will look like regular peanut butter
Add to the bowl the nut butter, protein powder, quick cook oats, flax seed meal, chia seeds, and honey.
Mix all of the ingredients together, you can use a spatula but your hands will probably work the best. You may need to adjust the honey and/or add a little water. If it feels too wet, add a little more oats, if it feels to dry add a bit more honey or water.
Roll into balls, whatever size you like.

Notes

You can mix anything you'd like into these. Sometimes I add mini chocolate chips or baby mnm's.

Using this recipe, I rolled 16 balls and each ball has about 5g of protein. Not bad! You could increase the amount of PB2 and decrease the actual nut butter amount to lower the fat content.

The total protein will vary depending on the brands that you use and the size of each. To store, keep in an air tight container or a ziploc bag in the refrigerator. I really love these and I hope you will too!

Chocolate Chip Banana Mini Muffins

10:00 am by Amanda Mouttaki 1 Comment

Every time we go to the store my youngest sons asks me if we can buy these.

And, every time I say no.

There’s something about the little packages that make a 6 year old perk up his ears and want to dig in. But the zillion ingredients that go into making one of these little muffins scares me! I have been promising him for weeks that I will make him little muffins and finally I’ve done it!

I made quite a few substitutions with ingredients to make these as nutritious as possible. I use the best quality ingredients, cut out any butter or oil and used gluten-free flours. They are way better than those chemical laden boxed variety.

My boys couldn’t tell if they had gluten or not, so either they’re getting really used to eating gluten-free foods or I did a really great job! If you’ve got little ones who avoid gluten, this is a great gluten free food for kids! If you’re not gluten free you can swap out the flours for between 1 1/2 and 2 cups of an all purpose flour.

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Banana Mini Muffins

Yield: 48 mini muffins

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes

Total Time: 27 minutes

These mini muffins are perfect for little ones. They're also gluten-free though you'll never know it when you taste them.

Ingredients

1 cup white rice flour
1/4 cup sorghum flour
3/4 cup tapioca starch
1 Tbsp xanthan gum
2 tsp chia seeds
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1/3 cup agave
2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
2/3 cup milk (or almond milk)
1/2 cup chocolate chips
2 ripe bananas

Notes

To make these with regular flour simply substitute with 2 cups all purpose flour.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Wilton Non-Stick Mini Muffin Pan

If you don’t have a mini muffin pan I highly recommend adding one to your baking arsenal. I love the small size for making all kinds of finger foods. If you’re like me and are constantly fighting to get muffins out of the pan without wrecking them, mini muffin liners can also be purchased.

I love these jewel tone muffin liners or these mini silicone muffin cups. If all else fails – just make regular sized muffins! Whichever size you decide to make, just be sure to serve with a big glass of cold milk!

Moroccan Breakfast Ideas

10:00 am by Amanda Mouttaki 14 Comments

Moroccan breakfast is simple by nature. Pancakes, fatty sausages, and loads of potatoes are not normal fare. Instead you’ll find something lighter though usually carbohydrate-laden.

This bread was a corn/sesame seed mixture. I’ve actually never heard or seen it before this past trip. MarocBaba’s family made sure to look for gluten free options for him (he didn’t follow a very gluten-free diet but made swaps when he could). I actually preferred this bread to the sometimes dry white bread rounds that graced the table. It had more substance and taste.

With this bread MarocBaba added raw pressed olive oil and lots of honey to the top. Simple and satisfying.

Typical Moroccan Breakfast Options

If you’re visiting Morocco and staying either at someone’s home or in a riad or hotel you’ll be presented with a variety of different foods. However most people eat a simple breakfast of bread with olive oil and tea. Some things you might find are;

baguettes or khobz – Moroccan bread (always)
croissants or other types of pastries
olive oil to be eaten with the bread, slathered on as we might do with butter
butter
some type of jam
Moroccan mortadella – it’s meat and it comes in a package like this. It’s a processed turkey bologna.
La Vache Qui Rit cheese triangles – known in the US as Laughing Cow cheese
m’semmen (special occasion)
beghrir (special occasion)
you might also find some fruit or yogurt such as traditional Moroccan Raib
eggs/omelette in some cases
eggs with khlii (a type of salted lamb or beef)
mint tea
coffee
orange juice

I find Moroccan breakfast to be a contrast from other meals. It surprises me how vast the styles, flavors and complexities of lunch and dinner meals can be, while breakfasts and even sweets to some degree are pretty basic.

Where to Eat Breakfast in Morocco

A third type of breakfast; not the one at a hotel or in a home is out on the streets.

No guided tour is going to take you to breakfast here, and they’re probably not going to tell you about it either. Chances are you won’t see too many women eating here. At first glance you won’t sit down, you’ll keep walking by.

Set up inside street-side shops are you’ll see scenes similar to this; large pots or tajines dotting gas burners. Bread and tea pots with glasses. For breakfast there are a variety of different options that will vary based on the stall you visit.

My favorite is white beans in a tomato sauce. MarocBaba chooses bissara and a stew of lamb stomach. The interior eating area is very simple, maybe rustic is a good word for it.

The plates are cleared and washed immediately. You can have as much bread as you want (the huge baskets under the cooking area let you know there’s plenty to go around). A pot of hot mint tea is standard. As you eat you’ll see many men and boys passing in and out to eat something quickly on their way to work or school. The best part is – the price is a steal. You’ll have a great, filling breakfast for under $3.

Moroccan breakfast ideas you can make at home.

Moroccan Breakfast Recipes

If you want to make a Moroccan breakfast table at home, here are some recipes to help you.

Moroccan Msemmen

Msemmen is typically made for breakfast or afternoon snack time. It is a laminated bread that can be eaten savory or sweet.

Batbout - Moroccan Pita Bread

This is the Moroccan version of pita bread. It's cooked on the stovetop, not in the oven.

B'ssara Soup

This is a thick soup or pulse made with fava beans that is often eaten in the morning during winter months.

Breakfast Harira

A savory breakfast soup that is popular in the mornings.

Want some specific ideas of where to eat breakfast in Marrakech or brunch in Marrakech? Pick up my guide to dining in Marrakech! It’s full of ideas for all times of day.

Breakfast Harira

10:00 am by Amanda Mouttaki 5 Comments

Six years ago, I boarded a plane and set off to spend my last spring break in Morocco. A few months earlier I had met MarocBaba and decided that I needed to go back even if it was only for six days. It wasn’t my first international trip but it was a little different. We had only known each other three days and I was going to be staying with his family. I was so excited to see him but very nervous about staying with his family. What was appropriate? How should I act? What should I wear? Add on about 100 more questions to that list – if it weren’t for all the adrenaline of actually making the trip I’m sure I would have had a panic attack.

I remember vividly the first morning. Flying low over Marrakech, waiting in an EXTREMELY long line for passport control and even more time waiting for my suitcase – all while my heart was pounding more than a million beats a minute. The experience of entering the visitor’s hall to find MarocBaba standing there beaming is a once in the lifetime memory. We rolled away in a taxi and pulled up to his house, where my heart started beating more – this time it was the panic attack starting up. All went well, I settled in a bedroom and changed my clothes and then I was served this;

It’s the same soup from the top, and it was my first taste of “real” Moroccan food. Not the tourist versions of famous Moroccan dishes we had been fed while on our tour. MarocBaba simply calls it white harira, though I’m sure there’s another name for it. I’ve got to be honest – I don’t like this. I didn’t like it from the beginning and dumped a lot of sugar in hoping it might taste like Cream of Wheat (it didn’t). BUT MarocBaba and our kids love it, so you should give it a chance.

Ingredients:

1 cup of fine semolina
2 cups water
2 tbsp good quality olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 – 1 cup of milk

Directions

In a medium saucepan begin to heat water on medium-high heat. Pour in the oil and slowly add the semolina and mix in using a whisk. They key to this is a smooth texture so whisking while cooking is necessary. Add the cumin, salt and pepper and continue to whisk. Once the mixture starts to slowly bubble add half of the milk, turn down the heat to low and continue mixing. The consistency of this is slightly thicker than a soup but should still be a liquid. If it gets too tight, add more milk. Cook on low for 1-2 minutes to blend flavors.

Serve in a bowl, sprinkled with cumin on top. Dates are traditionally served on the side with a hot cup of mint tea.