Taktouka
Morocco's smoky vegetable side: roasted red peppers and tomatoes cooked down with garlic, cumin and paprika to a glossy spoonable relish. Eaten with bread.
Overview
Red peppers char under a grill till blackened; peel; deseed; slice. Tomatoes blanch, peel, dice. Olive oil heats with garlic, cumin and sweet paprika; peppers and tomatoes go in; salt; cook for 25 minutes till the moisture has gone and the mixture is jammy and glossy. Coriander stirs in. Eats warm or room temperature.
Ingredients
- 4 red peppers (large, about 700 g)
- 4 ripe tomatoes (about 500 g)
- 4 garlic cloves (minced)
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 ½ teaspoons sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 20 g fresh coriander (chopped)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Method
Stage 1 - Char peppers
- Heat the grill to maximum (or use a gas burner flame).
- Char the peppers, turning, 8-10 minutes until blackened all over.
- Seal in a covered bowl 10 minutes to steam.
- Peel off the blackened skin; deseed; slice into 1 cm strips.
Stage 2 - Tomatoes
- Score a cross in the base of each tomato; plunge into boiling water 30 seconds; lift into cold water.
- Peel; deseed; dice 1 cm.
Stage 3 - Cook
- Heat the olive oil in a wide pan over medium heat.
- Soften the garlic 30 seconds; don't let it colour.
- Add the paprika, cumin and ground coriander; stir 30 seconds.
- Add the diced tomatoes; cook 8-10 minutes till broken down.
- Add the sliced peppers and salt; cook 15-18 minutes, stirring, until the mixture is glossy, jammy and almost dry.
Stage 4 - Finish
- Off heat; stir in the lemon juice and chopped coriander.
- Taste; adjust salt.
- Serve warm or at room temperature, with bread or alongside a tagine.
Notes
- Char fully: the smoke flavour from blackened pepper skin is the soul of taktouka. Under-charred peppers give a bland version.
- Cook till glossy and dry: watery taktouka is uncooked taktouka. Keep going until the moisture has reduced and the oil pools at the edges.
- Room temperature ages well: taktouka tastes better an hour after cooking; overnight is better still.
Storage
- Keeps 5 days refrigerated under a film of olive oil.
- Freezes 3 months; thaw overnight; bring to room temp before serving.
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