Israeli Matbucha Tomato-Pepper Salad

Matbucha (Mott-Boo-Chah) means ‘cooked salad’ in Arabic. It’s probably THE most eaten salad in Israel and there are dozens of variations.

In Israel matbucha is traditionally made with green peppers. I find them a bit on the bitter side so I use sweet red ones instead.

Even though we’ve lived here a long time and have been eating Israeli food forever, I still have to cut the hot peppers in half to enjoy the medley of flavors without grabbing for the ice water to douse the flame!

I’m also a bit of an impatient cook so I’m always looking for short cuts.

Instead of frying everything in a pan on the stove top, I throw all the ingredients in a wide oven roasting pan and pop it the oven.

The oven-roasted flavor and the addition of Galilee Green Extra Virgin Olive Oil makes our matbucha especially delicious!

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Galilee Green extra virgin olive oil
• 5 garlic cloves peeled and left whole
• 5 tomatoes cut in quarters
• 5 red bell peppers cut in quarters
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper seeded and sliced
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 lemon, juiced
• additional olive oil to taste (about 3 tablespoons)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Lay all the vegetables flat in a large oven roasting pan lined with baking paper (easy clean up).
3. Drizzle olive oil and spices evenly over the vegetables.
4. Roast for between 30 and 40 minutes checking every so often until veggies are soft and starting to turn brown.
5. Remove veggies from the oven and cool until you can handle them.
6. Place everything in a food processor and pulse until blended. If you like it chunky, blend less. If you want a smooth version, blend more.
7. Pour blended mixture into a large bowl and add lemon juice and 3 tablespoons of olive oil. More salt and pepper if you like.

“Start cooking like an Israeli with Galilee Green Olive Oil”

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