Ingredients
Paste
- 1whole head of garlic, peeled
- 1 tspsalt
- 4 tbspsweet paprika
- 2 tbsphot paprika or ground dried chilli
- 1 tbspground caraway
- 1 tbspground cumin
To loosen
- 150 mlolive oil
- juice of ½ lemon
Directions
- Pound or blend the peeled garlic with the salt into a completely smooth paste.
- Get it genuinely smooth. Any clove left in a lump will be startlingly fierce in a paste this concentrated.
- Mix the two paprikas, the caraway and the cumin together in a bowl.
- Add a few tablespoons of the olive oil to the spices and stir them into a thick paste, then work in the garlic.
- Bloom the spices in oil rather than adding them dry. Paprika in particular tastes dusty and raw if it never meets fat.
- Add the remaining oil gradually, stirring, until you have a loose spoonable paste.
- Never heat it at any stage. Everything here goes together cold, and paprika scorches into bitterness within seconds over direct heat.
- Stir in the lemon juice and taste for salt.
- Transfer to a jar and cover the surface with a thin film of oil.
- Refrigerate and use within about two weeks.
- Spoon it over fish, into shakshuka, onto eggs, or stir it through couscous.
- It is a Libyan Jewish relish, carried to Israel by a community that left after the pogroms of 1945 and 1948 and the exodus of 1967, and it now seasons Israeli shakshuka everywhere.
Technique
- A whole head of garlic is correct and is the point. The name means pepper and garlic, in that order, and both are meant to be forceful.
- Caraway is the note that makes it read as North African rather than generically hot.
- It mellows over a few days in the fridge and is better on day three than on day one.
Substitutions
- Aleppo pepper or Urfa in place of the hot paprika, both of which are gentler and smokier.
- Ground coriander if you cannot find caraway, accepting that it changes the character.
Variations
- Made hotter, with more chilli and less sweet paprika.
- With a spoonful of tomato paste worked in.
- Thinned with more oil and used as a marinade for fish.
History
A Libyan Jewish relish carried to Israel by a community that left after the 1945 and 1948 pogroms and the exodus of 1967; it now seasons Israeli shakshuka.
Frequently asked questions
What is Filfel chuma?
Filfel chuma is a sauce & condiment from Libya: garlic and dried-chili paste loosened with oil, spooned onto fish and eggs. A Libyan Jewish relish carried to Israel by a community that left after the 1945 and 1948 pogroms and the exodus of 1967; it now seasons Israeli shakshuka.
How long does Filfel chuma take to make?
Filfel chuma takes 20 min of preparation and no cooking at all. The recipe makes 1 jar, about 250 ml. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Filfel chuma?
Yes, within limits. Aleppo pepper or Urfa in place of the hot paprika, both of which are gentler and smokier. Ground coriander if you cannot find caraway, accepting that it changes the character.
What is the most important thing to get right in Filfel chuma?
Bloom the spices in oil rather than adding them dry. Paprika in particular tastes dusty and raw if it never meets fat.
