Matbucha

Ingredients

Peppers

• 6red peppers
• 2to 4 hot green chillies, to taste

Tomatoes

• 1.5 kgripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
• or 2 tins good chopped tomatoes

Also

• 8 clovesgarlic, sliced
• 120 mlolive oil
• 1 tspsweet paprika
• 1 tspsalt
• 1 tspsugar, if the tomatoes need it

To serve

• with fresh bread, as part of a mezze
• with challah on Shabbat
• alongside grilled meat

Directions

1. Put them in a bowl covered with a plate or in a bag for ten minutes. The trapped steam loosens the skins so they slip off, and this is far easier than trying to peel them cold. Cut the peeled flesh into strips. Now the tomatoes, which should be peeled.
2. Score a cross in the base of each, drop them into boiling water for thirty seconds, then into cold water and slip the skins off. Peeling matters here because tomato skins do not break down over the long cooking and end up as unpleasant curls of parchment through the relish.
3. Chop them roughly and keep all the juice. Warm the olive oil over a low heat and add the sliced garlic. Let it soften slowly without colouring, which infuses the oil thoroughly. Do not let the garlic brown, since matbucha should taste of sweet mellow garlic rather than of anything toasted.
4. Add the tomatoes, salt and paprika and bring it to a simmer. Cook it uncovered over a low heat, stirring every ten minutes or so.
5. Leave it uncovered throughout, since the entire process is about evaporating water. After thirty to forty minutes it will have reduced noticeably and darkened. Continue cooking for another forty-five minutes to an hour. Now the oil, which is not a small amount and should not be reduced.
6. Taste and adjust the salt, and add a little sugar if the tomatoes were sharp. Some make it barely warm and others make it genuinely fiery, and both are traditional.
7. Adjust the chillies to taste, and remember it tastes hotter cold than hot. It is served at room temperature or cold rather than hot. Serve it with bread to scoop, as part of a mezze, or alongside grilled meat and eggs.

Technique

• It must be cooked slowly for well over an hour to concentrate properly.
• The peppers are roasted and peeled without rinsing.
• It is served at room temperature and improves after a day.

Substitutions

• Good tinned tomatoes out of season.
• Jarred roasted peppers, though fresh charred ones are better.

Variations

• Made much hotter, which is common.
• With cumin and caraway, in a more Tunisian style.
• Served with eggs poached into it, closer to shakshuka.

Frequently asked questions

What is Matbucha?

Matbucha is a salad & side from Israel: cooked Moroccan tomato-pepper relish opening every mezze spread.

How long does Matbucha take to make?

Matbucha takes 20 min of preparation and 1 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 8 servings as a mezze. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Matbucha?

Yes, within limits. Good tinned tomatoes out of season. Jarred roasted peppers, though fresh charred ones are better.

What is the most important thing to get right in Matbucha?

Score a cross in the base of each, drop them into boiling water for thirty seconds, then into cold water and slip the skins off. Peeling matters here because tomato skins do not break down over the long cooking and end up as unpleasant curls of parchment through the relish.