Matbucha
Servings
4 Servings
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion cubed
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 bunch chopped cilantro finely diced
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- ¼ cup sugar
- Dash cayenne pepper
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a sauté pan over medium heat, sauté onion in olive oil until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add both cans of tomatoes, and continue to cook for 10 minutes. Add cilantro, cumin, sugar, and cayenne pepper. Stir gently and cook until cilantro has wilted into the mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook for 15 minutes until liquid is reduced down, concentrating the flavors. Adjust seasoning if needed.
My version: aboout 4 kilo of tomatoes, (don’t really know…)washed, peeled (not blanched) and cubed.
5 garlic bulbs, broken into cloves, peeled and chopped
about 10-15 (depending how spicy you like it) fresh hot peppers (I buy both green and red variety) chopped, seeds removed (use latex gloves!)
Cover bottom of heavy bottomed pan in oil (not olive oil – it imparts a distinctive taste, not really for matbucha) corn, soy or canola oil is best, add tomatoes, garlic and peppers. Keep the pot on LOW heat. Add about 1/4 cup of sugar, and let it come to a boil. Keep on stirring the mixture to avoid burning. Keep stirring , and stirring. The tomato mixture will be begin to significantly reduce in about 2-3 hours. DO NOT turn up the heat. Add a tablespoon of salt, black pepper, white pepper, paprika, and hot paprika to the mixture, and keep stirring. Add small amounts of oil as the matbucha reduces. Keep stirring, and in about 4-5 hours you will have delicious, jam-like authentic Moroccan matbucha. Keeps for up to 3 weeks in fridge (although in our house it gets eaten up more quickly that that!) and for months in the freezer.
This is a time-intensive recipe where you have to stay in the kitchen for a long time. Plan on doing other cooking while you’re there!
Good luck!
I have been experimenting and working on my matbucha with help from a friend and it is very different from this recipe as well. Would love to see you submit your version.
I agree with Bracha – I have never seen matbucha made with onions – only garlic, tomatoes and hot chili peppers. I am married to a Moroccan man and learned how to make matbucha from his mother. Also, CANNED tomatoes? I peel, chop and reduce the tomatoes, hot peppers and garlic to a jam-like consistency. Also, where’s the sugar? Real matbucha has no green herbs either…This seems more like a tomato chutney. I would not call it matbucha. Sorry…
If you want to make real matbucha, then you need roasted red peppers, one or more jalapeno, fresh tomatoes, no cilantro, and lots more oil.
Real matbucha is not made with onions, but with roasted green belll peppers. Obviously whoever came up with this recipe did not grow up in Israel.
Love matboucha; use it instead of “southwestern” salsa when I have chips