Moroccan Seffa (Sweet Vermicelli)
A traditional Moroccan dish of steamed, short vermicelli noodles naturally sweetened with raisins, butter, and decorated with cinnamon, powdered sugar, and crushed toasted almonds. It is often served as a sweet follow-up to a savory main course or as a festive dish.
Recipe byChef AminaIngredients
Scaled from 6 base servings — local only.
- 500 gshort vermicelli noodles (cheveux d'ange)
- 4 tbspvegetable oil
- 1 cupwater
- 1 tspsalt
- 100 graisins (soaked in warm water for 15 mins)
- 3 tbspunsalted butter (cut into pieces)
- 100 gpowdered sugar (icing sugar)
- 100 gblanched almonds (toasted and crushed)
- 2 tspground cinnamon
Instructions
In a large bowl, toss the dry vermicelli noodles with the vegetable oil until every strand is well coated. This prevents sticking.
Place the vermicelli in the steamer basket of a couscoussier (or a regular steamer) over boiling water. Steam uncovered for 20 minutes.
Transfer the steamed vermicelli back to the large bowl. Gently separate the strands with a fork while sprinkling with 1/2 cup of salted water. Let it absorb the water and cool for 10 minutes.
Return the vermicelli to the steamer and steam for another 20 minutes. Transfer back to the bowl, sprinkle with another 1/2 cup of water, separate the strands, and let rest for 10 minutes.
Drain the soaked raisins. Mix them into the vermicelli.
Place the vermicelli and raisin mixture back into the steamer for a third and final time, steaming for 15 to 20 minutes until the noodles are completely tender.
Transfer the hot vermicelli to a wide bowl. Add the butter and toss gently until it melts and coats the noodles evenly.
To serve, mound the hot Seffa into a dome shape on a large serving platter. Decorate the dome with alternating, vertical lines of ground cinnamon, powdered sugar, and crushed toasted almonds. Serve extra sugar and almonds in small bowls on the side.