Salads & cooked mezze
Matbucha (Slow-Cooked Tomato & Pepper Salad)
مطبوخة · maṭbukha
Matbucha — the name simply means 'cooked' — is a slow-simmered salad of tomatoes and roasted peppers reduced with garlic, paprika and a little chilli to a thick, glossy, faintly sweet relish. A staple of the Moroccan and Moroccan-Jewish table, it is one of the little cooked salads set out to open a meal, scooped up with bread.
- Origin
- Across Morocco; Moroccan-Jewish tables
- Type
- Cooked salad / mezze
- Eaten at
- Starter, mezze, Shabbat table
- Key flavour
- Tomato, roasted pepper, garlic, paprika
What Matbucha is
Ripe tomatoes and roasted, peeled peppers are cooked down slowly with garlic, paprika and a touch of chilli and olive oil until almost all the liquid evaporates and the mixture turns thick, dark and jammy.
The long reduction concentrates the sweetness of the tomato and the smoky depth of the peppers, giving a spreadable, richly savoury salad that is served cool or at room temperature.
Origin & story
Matbucha is shared across Moroccan Muslim and Jewish tables and travelled with Moroccan-Jewish emigrants, becoming a fixture of the wider Israeli-Sephardi mezze repertoire, where it is often served for Shabbat.
It belongs to Morocco's family of cooked pepper-and-tomato salads, close kin to taktouka, distinguished mainly by its longer cooking and jammier texture.
Key ingredients at a glance
- Ripe tomatoes
- Roasted red or green peppers, peeled
- Garlic
- Paprika
- Chilli or hot pepper (to taste)
- Olive oil
- Salt and a little cumin
This is a flavour snapshot, not a recipe. For quantities and method, see the full recipe linked below.
When & how it's eaten
Set out cool as one of several small cooked salads at the start of a meal, eaten by scooping with bread; it also accompanies grilled meats and fish.
On Moroccan-Jewish tables it is a classic part of the Shabbat and festive spread.
Regional variations
Ratios of tomato to pepper and the level of chilli vary; some cooks keep it chunkier, others reduce it to a smooth paste. A little sugar is sometimes added to underline the sweetness.
It is closely related to taktouka and to the grilled-pepper salad chlada felfla.
Where to try it in Marrakech
Found among the cooked-salad spreads at traditional restaurants and homes across Morocco; a souk-to-table food tour is a good way to taste several mezze salads together.
Learn cooked-salad technique in a Moroccan salads and mezze class and read more in the guides.
Frequently asked questions
What is matbucha?
A Moroccan cooked salad of tomatoes and roasted peppers reduced slowly with garlic and paprika into a thick, sweet-savoury relish, served cool with bread.
How is matbucha different from taktouka?
They are close cousins; matbucha is generally cooked longer to a jammier, more concentrated texture, while taktouka can be looser and fresher-tasting.
Is matbucha spicy?
It has a gentle warmth from paprika and chilli, but the heat level is adjustable and it is more sweet-savoury than fiery.