Every Ramadan, Moroccan «pizza» takes center stage on the iftar table, a flexible, homegrown creation that looks nothing like its Italian cousin but perfectly reflects Moroccan ingenuity and practicality. DR ‹ › It is the expected guest of Ramadan, the dish no Iftar table feels complete without. Moroccans call it pizza. Italians, however, might hesitate to grant it that title. This Moroccan invention bears little resemblance to a classic Neapolitan or quattro formaggi. It can be round, square, or rectangular. And as for the toppings? At the chef's discretion or, more accurately, whatever mothers happen to have in the fridge. In most homes, that means tuna, black olives, tomato sauce, and a generous layer of cheese. Other variations are more adventurous: ground beef, seafood, chicken, and colorful bell peppers. Whether Italians approve of it or not, as meme culture often jokes, this Moroccan pizza has proven over the years that it is here to stay. The real question is how it gradually found its way onto our Ramadan iftar tables and became a staple of the month. Dough, the Moroccan Way «What Moroccans call 'pizza' during Ramadan differs greatly from Italian pizza», said Mohammed Afechkou, a Moroccan chef. «For Italians, pizza dough is very specific: Special flour, precise resting times, exact ingredients. Our Ramadan pizza dough is closer to batbout dough», a type of Moroccan flatbread, he explained. «It's versatile. The only real difference is the shape». To make it, flour is mixed with olive oil, baker's yeast, oregano, salt, and warm water, kneaded and left to rise, according to a Choumicha recipe. «The same dough can become mini pizzas, batbout, or even beignets if you add sugar», Mohammed noted. The shaping technique is equally un-Italian. The dough is rolled thin, cut into small rounds, pierced with a fork, partially baked, and only then topped. «No one really remembers who invented this technique», Afechkou said, noting that the origins of Moroccan pizza are far less clear than its now well-established recipe. But he has a logical explanation: the dish evolved gradually with Moroccan cookbooks, online forums, blogs, and later YouTube. «I remember in the early 2000s, small cooking books by Moroccan chefs became popular. Then online cooking forums emerged. Then YouTube arrived», he said. «People shared new ideas and recipes. That's where many of these filled and stuffed creations found their audience», Afechkou himself was active on those forums in the early 2000s. For Chef Halima Boubakri, who owns a Casablanca pizzeria, the answer is simpler, and more poetic. «The Ramadan pizza is the invention of the Moroccan mom par excellence», she jokes. She doesn't give it a fancy name. «For her, it's simply pizza». «She creates something out of almost nothing. With just a bit of bell pepper, tomato, cheese, maybe some chicken or ground meat if there's any, a pizza appears on the table». Practical, Fast, and Waste-Free So simple, in fact, that it moved from the home kitchen to bakery shelves. «Bakeries follow the market and see what people are consuming», Halima said. «The pizza sold outside is made the same way moms prepare it at home», she said, adding «It's practical, especially for working mothers». The dish fits perfectly into Ramadan's fast-paced rhythm and the Moroccan instinct to avoid waste. That's why many prepare mini pizzas. «It might take time, preparing the dough, filling them, but they reduce waste because everyone can eat just the piece they want», she explained. Mohammed agrees. «Ramadan pushes people toward the fastest and most practical solutions», he concluded. «Time is precious. Mothers have so much to do. That's why pizza is perfect. We don't complicate things». A pizza it is.
