Trid — also called trid fassi in Fez — is the Moroccan version of a dish that exists across the entire Islamic world: bread or thin flatbread torn and soaked in a meat broth. The Arabic tharid is recorded from the time of the Prophet Muhammad, who is said to have called it his favorite dish. The Moroccan trid uses thin, crepe-like flatbread (called trid or rfassa bread) that is torn into pieces, laid in a bowl, and drenched in a rich lamb or chicken broth thick with chickpeas, lentils, and the warm Moroccan spice blend. The bread soaks up the broth like a sponge, becoming soft and savory. Rfissa, which is already in the database, is a closely related chicken-and-lentil version served over trid bread.
The broth is deeply savory, thick with chickpeas and shredded meat; the soaked bread is soft, almost custardy, melting into the sauce. It is the most comforting bowl in Moroccan cooking, and you understand why it has been made for fourteen centuries.
The bread is the sponge and the broth is everything else, and the ratio matters: too much bread and it becomes a paste, too little and it is just soup. The thin flatbread is torn, not cut, because torn edges are ragged and expose more surface area for broth absorption. The broth is thickened naturally by the lentils and chickpeas, which release their starch as they cook, giving the liquid body without a roux. The smen, stirred in at the end, adds its distinctive aged-nutty flavor that cannot be replicated with fresh butter.
Variations
Rfissa (already in DB) is the chicken-and-lentil version. Some use msemen or melloui bread instead of trid bread. A sweet version is drizzled with honey.
On the Palate
Where Trid sits in the Moroccan flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6
How it's made
6 steps · 45 min
- 115 min
Make thin flatbread: 2 cups flour, 1 tsp salt, water to make a thin batter; cook like crepes on a hot pan; tear into pieces.
Watch outTear the flatbread, don't cut — ragged edges soak up far more broth than clean-cut ones.
- 28 min
In a pot, brown 1 kg lamb pieces in 2 tbsp smen; add 2 chopped onions, 4 garlic cloves, 1 tsp saffron, 1 tsp ginger, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 cup soaked chickpeas, 1 cup lentils, salt; cook 5 min.
- 320 min
Add water to cover; simmer covered 1 hour until the meat is tender and the broth thick.
- 45 min
Layer torn bread pieces in a wide serving bowl; ladle the hot broth, meat, chickpeas and lentils over the top.
- 55 min
Let sit 5 min for the bread to absorb; stir in 1 tbsp smen.
Watch outLet the bread soak just until saturated but still holding shape — a minute too long and it dissolves into paste.
- 64 min
Serve immediately, while the bread is soaked but not yet dissolved.
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