Chef Zohra
Bakoula (بقولة)
Mallow greens cooked soft and dark with garlic, cumin, preserved lemon, and olives, the Moroccan cooked salad that tastes of spring rain and a loaf of khobz shared warm.
Culinary Explorer
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Matbucha (مطبوخة)
Created by
Tomatoes and peppers cooked down until they stop tasting raw and become a dark, glossy salad for bread, eggs, fish, or any table that needs one more plate.
Salads
Moroccan
Make Ahead
Potluck
Comfort Food
20 min
Active Time
1 hr 10 min cook•1 hr 30 min total
Yield6 to 8 servings
The patience is the recipe here. Tomatoes go into the pan bright and loose, peppers follow with their sweetness, and you keep them over the fire until the water leaves and the oil rises back to the surface. That is when matbucha becomes itself: dark, thick, a little sweet, a little sharp, ready for bread.
Matbucha belongs especially to Jewish-Moroccan tables, where cooked salads formed part of the kemia, the small dishes set out before or beside the meal. Its name comes from Arabic, meaning cooked, and the dish depends on New World tomatoes and peppers that settled into North African cooking through Mediterranean trade by the 18th and 19th centuries. In the 20th century, Moroccan Jewish families carried matbucha to Israel, where it became one of the clearest tastes of that migration.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
ripe tomatoes
Quantity
1.5 kg
peeled and chopped
red bell peppers
Quantity
3
roasted, peeled, seeded, and diced
hot green or red chile (optional)
Quantity
1 small
seeded and minced
garlic cloves
Quantity
5
thinly sliced
olive oil
Quantity
80 ml
sweet paprika
Quantity
2 tsp
hot paprika or cayenne (optional)
Quantity
1/2 tsp
ground cumin
Quantity
1 tsp
sugar (optional)
Quantity
1 tsp
only if the tomatoes are sharp
sea salt
Quantity
1 1/2 tsp, plus more to taste
lemon juice or white vinegar (optional)
Quantity
1 tbsp
if needed at the end
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| ripe tomatoespeeled and chopped | 1.5 kg |
| red bell peppersroasted, peeled, seeded, and diced | 3 |
| hot green or red chile (optional)seeded and minced | 1 small |
| garlic clovesthinly sliced | 5 |
| olive oil | 80 ml |
| sweet paprika | 2 tsp |
| hot paprika or cayenne (optional) | 1/2 tsp |
| ground cumin | 1 tsp |
| sugar (optional)only if the tomatoes are sharp | 1 tsp |
| sea salt | 1 1/2 tsp, plus more to taste |
| lemon juice or white vinegar (optional)if needed at the end | 1 tbsp |
Equipment Needed
- •Wide heavy saute pan or shallow Dutch oven
- •Tongs for charring peppers
Instructions
- 1
Roast the peppers
Char the peppers over a flame or under a hot grill until the skins blister and blacken in patches. Cover them in a bowl for 10 minutes, then peel, seed, and dice them. This little wait loosens the skin and gives the peppers a soft sweetness without leaving papery bits in the salad.
- 2
Start the tomatoes
Put the chopped tomatoes, roasted peppers, chile if using, garlic, salt, and olive oil in a wide heavy pan. Bring to a lively simmer, then lower the heat so it bubbles steadily. A wide pan matters because the water must leave; matbucha is reduced, not drowned.
- 3
Cook it down
Cook uncovered for 45 to 60 minutes, stirring often near the end, until the tomatoes collapse and the mixture turns thick and dark red. Drag a spoon through the pan. If the path fills at once, keep cooking. If it holds for a breath and the oil glistens at the edges, you're close.
- 4
Add the spices
Stir in the sweet paprika, hot paprika if using, and cumin during the last 10 minutes. Add them too early and they can dull or catch on the bottom; add them now and they bloom in the oil that has come back to the surface.
- 5
Taste and rest
Taste for salt. If the tomatoes are too sharp, add the sugar. If they taste flat, add a little lemon juice or vinegar. Let the matbucha cool, then rest it at least 2 hours, better overnight. It should be spoonable, glossy, and strong enough to stand up to warm khobz.
Chef Tips
- •Use tomatoes that smell like tomatoes. If they are pale and hard, wait for summer or use good canned whole tomatoes. No gesture rescues a tired vegetable.
- •Matbucha should not be wet. Keep reducing until the oil returns and the spoon leaves a brief track through the pan.
- •Serve it at room temperature, not cold from the refrigerator. The olive oil relaxes and the garlic comes back into the room.
Advance Preparation
- •Make matbucha one or two days ahead. It deepens in the refrigerator and keeps well for 5 days in a covered container.
- •Bring it to room temperature before serving and loosen with a small spoon of olive oil if it has tightened too much.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 160g)
Calories
150 calories
Total Fat
11 g
Saturated Fat
2 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
9 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
500 mg
Total Carbohydrates
12 g
Dietary Fiber
3 g
Sugars
7 g
Protein
2 g
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