Ingredients
Vegetables
- 6long green peppers
- 800 gripe tomatoes
- 6garlic cloves, crushed
To season
- 5 tablespoonsolive oil
- 1 teaspoonsweet paprika
- 1 teaspoonground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoonsalt
- black pepper
- a pinch of chilli, optional
To finish
- a handful of parsley, chopped
- a handful of coriander, chopped
- extra olive oil
To serve
- khobz, Moroccan bread
- grilled fish or meat
Directions
- Set the peppers directly over a gas flame. Turn them with tongs as the skin blackens. Keep turning until they are charred all over. This takes about eight minutes.
- Put the hot peppers into a bowl. Cover it tightly with a plate or cling film. Leave them for fifteen minutes. Rub the blackened skin off with your fingers. It should slide away from them easily.
- Pull out the stem and the seeds. Tear or chop the flesh into strips. Peel them if you want a smoother salad. Score a cross in the base of each one. Drop them into boiling water for thirty seconds. Lift them into cold water and slip the skins off.
- Chop the pepper flesh roughly. Heat the olive oil in a wide pan. Add all of the crushed garlic. Cook it for thirty seconds only. Do not let the garlic brown or it turns bitter.
- Add the chopped tomatoes to it. Add the paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Bring the whole pan to a simmer. Let it cook for about twenty minutes. Stir it once every few minutes. The tomato should reduce to a thick pulp. Stir the roasted pepper strips into the tomato. Cook everything together for ten more minutes.
- Mash it roughly with the back of a spoon. It should be chunky rather than smooth. Taste it and adjust the salt again. Add a pinch of chilli if you want heat. Traditional taktouka is mild rather than hot. Stir in the chopped parsley and coriander. Add a final drizzle of good olive oil.
- Let it cool to room temperature. Serving it is done cool or cold. Spread it out on a shallow plate. Serve khobz alongside for scooping. It keeps four days refrigerated. Bring it back to room temperature before serving.
Technique
- Moroccan salads are a category of small cooked dishes served together at the start of a meal.
- Zaalouk, made with aubergine, is taktouka’s closest relative and is often served alongside it.
Substitutions
- Jarred roasted peppers can be used, though the smoky flavour is weaker.
- Tinned tomatoes work out of season and should be reduced further.
Variations
- Some households add a beaten egg stirred into the hot mixture.
- A version with preserved lemon is made in some regions.
- Adding olives is common in Tunisian versions of the same idea.
History
A cooked salad made from roasted green pepper and tomato, seasoned with garlic and paprika and cooked down into a soft, jammy consistency, documented across Morocco as a common side salad, closely related in preparation technique to zaalouk though built on pepper and tomato rather than aubergine. Its roasted pepper base, requiring the peppers to be charred and peeled before cooking down with tomato, reflects a broader Moroccan and wider Mediterranean technique of using direct fire to add smoky depth to vegetables before further preparation. Taktouka remains a common part of the traditional Moroccan salad spread served at the start of a meal, valued for its bright, slightly smoky flavour.
Frequently asked questions
What is Taktouka?
Taktouka is a salad & side from Morocco: cooked salad of roasted green peppers and tomatoes, scooped with bread. A cooked salad made from roasted green pepper and tomato, seasoned with garlic and paprika and cooked down into a soft, jammy consistency, documented across Morocco as a common side salad, closely related in preparation technique to zaalouk though built on pepper and tomato rather than aubergine. Its roasted pepper base, requiring the peppers to be charred and peeled before cooking down with tomato, reflects a broader Moroccan and wider Mediterranean technique of using direct fire to add smoky depth to vegetables before further preparation. Taktouka remains a common part of the traditional Moroccan salad spread served at the start of a meal, valued for its bright, slightly smoky flavour.
How long does Taktouka take to make?
Taktouka takes 20 minutes of preparation and 40 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Taktouka?
Yes, within limits. Jarred roasted peppers can be used, though the smoky flavour is weaker. Tinned tomatoes work out of season and should be reduced further.
What is the most important thing to get right in Taktouka?
Chop the pepper flesh roughly. Heat the olive oil in a wide pan. Add all of the crushed garlic. Cook it for thirty seconds only. Do not let the garlic brown or it turns bitter.
