Walnut And Rose Ghriba Recipe

An easy recipe for Moroccan Walnut and Rose Ghriba biscuits

Ghriba are delicious traditional Moroccan biscuits. They are simple to make and very moreish. Everyone has a different recipe for them, and this one, which I have modified slightly, is thanks to the chef and team at Riad Le Pelerin in Marrakech.

Ghriba recipes differ but they generally contain nuts; walnuts, peanuts or almonds, are dusted in icing sugar, and flavoured with vanilla, orange blossom, or rosewater. Riad Le Pelerin uses ground peanuts and homemade apricot jam, neither of which I had at home, so I replaced them with ground walnuts and fig jam. It’s a versatile recipe; if you keep the quantities the same, you can experiment with different nuts and types of jam.  I’ve also made a delicious version with ground almonds, fig jam and vanilla essence.

Ingredients (makes about 16 Moroccan biscuits)

• 300g ground walnuts (you could use ground peanuts or ground almonds). If you like a crunchy texture, then roughly grind the nuts in a pestle and mortar, leaving some larger pieces
• 1 large spoon (about 60g) of jam or marmalade (e.g. fig jam)
• 30g unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon rosewater
• Roughly 2 tablespoons of icing sugar (for coating)

Method

1. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 180°C (Gas mark 4).

2. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl, except the icing sugar, and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon.

3. Put the icing sugar on a plate. Take a spoonful of the biscuit mixture, roll it into a ball shape, then roll it in the icing sugar and place it on the baking tray.

4. Lightly press the top of each ghriba, then place them in the oven.

5. Cook for 15–18 minutes. The ghriba should be cracked and hard on the outside. Leave to cool.

6. Serve with hot mint tea.

If you like this recipe, take a look at Rachida’s, delicious sweet potato and coconut soup recipe.

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