Matboucha

Matboucha literally means "cooked" in Arabic, and this dish is named so for being a "cooked salad." However, it really is less of a salad and more of a wonderful dip or spread for warm pita or toast. It's spicy without being too hot, and oily without feeling greasy. The shine it gets from the oil makes it a very impressive looking dish.

You will need*:

5 fresh, large tomatoes
4 red bell peppers
4 jalapeño peppers
10 cloves of garlic, crushed
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 TBS hot Spanish or Hungarian paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
1 pinch of sugar
1 TBS canned tomato paste

With a paring knife, cut a small X at the bottom of each tomato and blanch them in boiling water for a couple minutes, remove, peel, take out seeds and chop.

Roast both green and red peppers on the grill or on your range. (For details on how to prep the peppers see my post on Smoky Charred Peppers). Peel, remove seeds and membranes and chop.

Cook the chopped tomatoes in a saucepan for about 10 minutes, stirring continuously, until the consistency is thick and there is no more water.  Add everything else, except the tomato paste. Lower the heat and cook for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Add the tomato paste and cook an additional 30 minutes. The sauce will begin to have a very shiny gloss to it and will be very thick.

Serve it in a small bowl with pita or as a topping for falafel.

*I use the recipe from "The Book of New Israeli Food" by Janna Gur