So, you know all of those salads I told you cover the table at my Moroccan in-laws on Friday nights? Well, my husband loves them. Sometimes in an effort to embody that ever-elusive idea of the perfect wife (don’t even get me started on this), I’ll try to make a few of the salads for Friday night dinner. Once I decided I would make a whole dozen of them, and then didn’t end up making anything else. People, those salads take time.
So usually, I’ll just make two or three. We had friends over for Rosh Hashanah and I made challah (I used this recipe, but decided to go all out and use the amounts of white flour and sugar specified in the original recipe, and it was to. die. for.). Anyways, I thought I’d make a few salads to serve with it, and printed out a recipe for Matbucha. Now, I’ve made different versions of Matbucha, a thick, cooked tomato salad, over the years I’ve been married to my very Moroccan husband, but they’ve always been just ok. So when Yaki took one look at this one and let out an emphatic “wow”, I knew we had found a winner. Once the original batch was done, he put in a request for more, so this time around I photographed it for you.
It’s super simple really; it’s secret lies in a very long time simmering away on the stove, and as long as you’re home for a few hours, you’re good to go.
For something that’s as simple as peeling, chopping, and then stirring occasionally, say, whenever you pass the kitchen, the payoff is great: it’s perfect as part of a mezze spread, to be eaten with challah or pita bread, it adds an edge to sandwiches (from grilled cheese to pastrami), makes a perfect sauce in which to poach eggs for Shakshuka, is a wonderful base for spaghetti-destined tomato sauce, and is a key ingredient in many Moroccan dishes (such as this). Oh, and it freezes beautifully. In fact, Yaki’s grandmother has a freezer filled with little individual-sized portions of Matbucha, and when we visit, she opens her freezer and gives us one to take home.
Perfect Matbucha
Adapted from this recipe by Chaim Cohen
This cooked tomato salad is a Moroccan staple. You can adjust the amount of hot pepper to make it as spicy or as mild as you’d like (we leave it out completely). The secret to perfect Matbucha is a very long simmering time, until all liquids have evaporated and the salad is coated with a slick of oil. If you need to stop in the middle and continue later, you totally can. In fact, when I made this batch, I grew sleepy when it was still very liquid, put it in the fridge and continued the next day. Once cooked, it will keep for about a week in the fridge (possibly longer). It also freezes beautifully. As I mentioned above: it’s wonderful served as part of a mezze spread, to be eaten with challah or pita bread, it adds flavor to sandwiches (from grilled cheese to pastrami), makes a perfect sauce in which to poach eggs for Shakshuka, and is a key ingredient in many Moroccan dishes. One last thing: you can easily halve this recipe, if you don’t want to lug home 4.5 pounds of tomatoes. Although, really, you should.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I use canola)
10 garlic cloves
2 kilograms/ 4.5 pounds tomatoes*
4-5 fresh hot peppers (optional)
1 tablespoon paprika (preferably Moroccan or Hungarian)
Salt and white pepper
1. Peel your tomatoes with a knife** (without blanching them in hot water), and coarsely chop them. Peel and chop the garlic cloves.
2. Set a medium pot over low heat, and warm the oil. Add the garlic, stirring for just a few seconds, without allowing it to color. Add the tomatoes, stir, and cover the pot. Allow to cook, over low heat, for an hour.
3. Meanwhile, if using hot peppers: grill them over an open flame, turning with tongs until the skins are blackened. Place them in a closed bag, so that they sweat and wiggle away from their skins. Peel, and chop.
4. Add the peppers, paprika, salt and pepper to the pot with the tomatoes. Stir, and cook, uncovered, on a low flame, for approximately two hours, until all of the liquid has evaporated. The salad should be very thick, and coated with a slick of oil. (This can sometimes take an extra hour or two, depending on the freshness of your tomatoes,* etc. You’re aiming for a consistency thick enough not to pass through a slotted spoon (like in the second to last picture). The only liquid remaining should be clearly oil, and not tomato juice).
*Experienced Moroccan cooks will tell you the best tomatoes to use are old, wrinkled and past their prime (they will release their liquids faster, resulting in a quicker cooking time). I’ve used fresh, taut tomatoes too though, and other than an increase in cooking time, the results are the same.
**My grandmother recently gave me a serrated vegetable peeler– specifically for tomatoes- and it made peeling these a breeze.
Ever think of photography???? I get hungry just eye shopping through your site:)
Hey you! Taking the photos is actually my least favorite part about blogging… It requires SO much patience. I think it’s a major part of food blogging though, so I try…
Great blog. I love the receipes as well as reading your stories. Looking forward for more…
Thank you so much!
Thank you for the Recipe, looks great :)! I will try now. Why is it important not to take of the skin of the tomatoes with hot water? Is it necessary to take away the skin anyway?
Regards from Switzerland
Hi! There are so many different versions of Matbucha! I think this one calls for peeling the tomatoes without blanching them, so that they don’t absorb any additional water (though I’m not sure). Removing the skin allows the Matbucha to be very soft and almost silky, without little pieces of skin. However, because this simmers for so long, I’m sure you can blanch the tomatoes before peeling if you prefer, or leave the skins on if that’s easier (my SIL does, and she says it’s still great). Hope you enjoy it!
Thanks, I’ll have to try both ways :)…
Let us know what you think!
Hi what kind of hot peppers do you use?
Hi Jacque. I actually never use hot peppers- since I don’t like things spicy- so I’m afraid I can’t be of much help… If you normally cook with hot peppers- I’m sure you can just use what you usually do/ what you have on hand. Otherwise, maybe ask for recommendations at your grocer/market. Sorry I can’t be more helpful!
Wow, this looks absolutely amazing! I have loved matbucha every time I’ve had it, but never made it. :)
Hope you make it soon- it’s pretty easy!
im so happy to have found this recipe….. I tasted this once I made it once and I lost the recipe… the other recipes have other ingredients ….I have a great recipe for eggplant and if you want it you can email me…. it is Turkish and my grandma who was Russian made it for my Spanish/Turkish grandfather… it is easy and everyone loves it…. it is also to be eaten cold or at room temp with any bread or chips…. we are a jewish mixture of polish Spanish/Turkish and Russian… I was born in cuba…. so we like many many things in our family….
What an interesting mix of cultures! Hope this recipe matches your memories of this dish…
Hi, can it be made with tomatoes from a can?
Hi Tal. I don’t think so… The best is to use very ripe fresh tomatoes.
It can. And just as good. Your recipe is like my father in law. Just used one big can of tomatoes for half your recipe.
This looks amazing. Is the paprika meant to be sweet or spicy?
Thanks!
Hi! The paprika I use is sweet, but you can use whichever you prefer depending on whether you’d like it to be spicy or not… :)