Moroccan · Breakfast
Olive Oil & Honey Breakfast Bowl (Zit ou Aasel)
The simplest and most traditional Moroccan breakfast is barely a recipe: a saucer of good green olive oil, a saucer of dark honey, and warm bread torn and dunked first in one then the other. Served with mint tea and fresh cheese it is the everyday morning table across the country, and its quality lives entirely in the oil and honey you choose.
- Prep
- 5 min
- Cook
- 0 min
- Total
- 5 min
- Serves
- 2
- Level
- Easy
Ingredients
- 6 tbsp fruity extra-virgin olive oil (Moroccan Picholine if you can find it)
- 4 tbsp dark honey (thyme, jujube or wildflower)
- Warm khobz, msemen or harcha, to serve
- 50 g fresh cheese (jben) or a wedge of soft cheese
- A handful of black and green olives
- Mint tea, to serve
Method
- 1
Warm the bread
Warm the bread in a dry pan or low oven so it is soft and fragrant — cold bread does not soak up the oil the same way.
- 2
Plate the oil and honey
Pour the olive oil into one shallow saucer and the honey into another, so each keeps its own flavour rather than muddling together.
- 3
Add the sides
Set out the fresh cheese and olives alongside, and pour glasses of hot mint tea.
- 4
Dip and eat
Tear the warm bread, dip first into the olive oil, then a corner into the honey, and eat straight away while everything is warm.
Chef's tips
- The dish is only as good as the oil — use a peppery, fruity extra-virgin, not a bland refined oil.
- A dark, strongly flavoured honey stands up to the oil far better than a pale mild one.
- Warm the bread properly; it is the difference between a snack and a proper Moroccan breakfast.
Frequently asked questions
Do you mix the oil and honey together?
Traditionally no — you keep two separate saucers and dip the bread in each so you taste the oil and the honey distinctly. Some people do drizzle both onto the same piece.
What bread is best?
Warm khobz is standard, but flaky msemen or semolina harcha make it more of a treat. Any is dipped the same way.