Matbucha

On the surface, store-bought matbucha (which means, simply, “cooked” in Arabic) seems like not much, a ho-hum side dish of long-cooked tomatoes. But when you start talking about homemade matbucha, people’s eyes light up. They fantasize about trailing a shred of still-warm challah through the deeply reduced, slightly tart, salty-sweet tomato sauce laced with a bit of heat. It’s something to make in Israel all year but especially in the summer, when riper tomatoes are abundant (I like to use Maggie tomatoes, which are very red, juicy, and a little acidic, the platonic ideal of a peak-season vine tomato). The secret, like a good Italian sauce, is to blanch and shock the tomatoes before cooking and slip them out of their skins, then let the tomatoes simmer for a few hours at a low temperature, with very little interruption and very few flavor enhancements other than the slight char of bell peppers and the spice from roasted jalapeños. I know, I know—you don’t love green peppers. But here, their lack of sweetness and vegetal qualities lend some green earth to this tomato party. Be warned—four pounds of tomatoes reduces down to about three cups, and that will be gone long before you learn how to pronounce “matbucha” (for the record, it’s “mat-BOO-cha”).

Makes 2½ to 3 cups

Active Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 2½ hours

11 to 12 medium ripe tomatoes (about 4¼ pounds), or three 28-ounce cans diced tomatoes in juice

1 large red bell pepper

1 large green bell pepper

2 medium jalapeños

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

5 garlic cloves, halved lengthwise

2 tablespoons kosher salt

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

If using whole tomatoes, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Set up an ice-water bath. Using a paring knife, cut out and discard only the green stem circle from the top of each tomato and then cut an X into the bottom of each tomato. Use a spider or a slotted spoon to lower the tomatoes into the boiling water, 6 or 8 at a time, for 30 to 45 seconds. Lift them out and drop them into the ice-water bath for 30 seconds (refresh the ice-water bath with more ice as needed). Slip the tomatoes out of their skins, dice them, and transfer them to a large bowl.

Char, cool, skin, and seed the bell peppers and jalapeños using the method on this page. Chop the peppers and dice the jalapeños and add them to the tomatoes.

Heat ¼ cup of the olive oil in a large (at least 10-inch) high-sided skillet or soup pot over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until softened and golden but not deeply browned or crisped, 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, chopped peppers and jalapeños, salt, and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce to a low simmer, and cook, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan every 5 to 10 minutes so it doesn’t burn, until the liquid has evaporated, the matbucha is concentrated, and the tomatoes are very soft, 1½ hours. Reduce the heat to the lowest simmer, stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons oil with the paprika and cook, stirring often, until the matbucha darkens in color, looks shiny, and is reduced to about 3 cups, another 1 to 1½ hours. Cool and serve at room temperature.

Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.