Matbucha

This matbucha cooked salad is rich, juicy and delicious - the perfect Moroccan appetizer! Made with eggplant, bell peppers, shallots, tomatoes and spices. Just the right amount of heat and sweetness.

5 from 6 votes

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Total Time 40

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Moroccan

Servings

Calories 130 kcal

Ingredients

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 shallots, or 1 red onion diced
1 eggplant
2 red bell peppers
1 red chili de-seeded, sliced thin
1 tablespoon coconut sugar or honey
6 cloves garlic minced
1 tablespoon sweet paprika powder
1/2 teaspoon dried chili flakes
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
liberal amount black pepper
1 400g/14oz can of chopped tomatoes

Instructions

Peel the eggplant and cut into 1 cm cubes. Remove the stems and seeds from bell peppers, slice into 1cm strips.
Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pan, medium temperature. Add shallots, eggplant, peppers, sliced chilli and a good sprinkle of salt. Cook for 15 minutes until the vegetables have softened considerably.
Add garlic, sweet paprika powder and dried chilli flakes, cook a few minutes.
Add chopped tomatoes, sea salt, coconut sugar, and liberal amounts of black pepper. Cook a further 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the juices have evaporated off and the mixture has thickened.
Remove from heat, mash half of the matbucha mixture for a jam-like texture before serving.

Video

Notes

Use a heavy-bottomed saucepan to evenly distribute the heat and avoid burning
Both the eggplant and the bell peppers can be blackened over a barbeque or in the oven prior for a smokier flavour - I have omitted this step for the sake of time and truly the end result is spectacular without it
You can omit the eggplant and use more bell pepper
Honey can be substituted for the coconut sugar
Mash with a potato masher or fork to get the ideal consistency
Serve matbucha with flatbread or toasted sourdough
Store in glass jars in the fridge for up to a week
Freezes well
Nutrition panel is an estimate only, and reflects one of eight serves

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 130kcalCarbohydrates: 12gProtein: 2gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 1.25gSodium: 120.5mgFiber: 3.25gSugar: 7.25gVitamin C: 39mgIron: 0.6mg

Keyword Matbucha