A vibrant Moroccan cooked salad featuring roasted peppers, tomatoes, and a garlicky spice blend. Smoky, slightly spicy, and perfect as a dip, sandwich filler, or side.
A traditional Moroccan smoky pepper salad.
Wash the bell peppers and pat them dry. Lightly grease a baking tray with vegetable oil. Place the whole peppers on the tray and roast in a preheated oven at medium temperature until soft and slightly charred. Once roasted, let them cool, then peel off the skin, remove the seeds, and finely chop. Set aside.
In a pan over low heat, saute the minced or grated garlic until its color begins to darken. Peel and deseed the tomatoes, then finely chop them. Add the tomatoes to the pan with the garlic.
To the garlic-tomato mixture, add 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, salt to taste, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1 tbsp paprika, 1 tbsp olive oil, and 1 tbsp vinegar. Stir everything together over low heat until the mixture becomes thick and well combined.
Add the chopped roasted peppers to the tomato sauce. Stir occasionally over low heat until the mixture becomes dense and slightly thickened. Sprinkle with a little more cumin before removing from heat. Let it cool before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature with bread.
Spread the taktouka in a shallow baking dish, make a few wells, and crack eggs into them. Bake at 375°F until the whites are set but the yolks are still runny. Serve with warm crusty bread for dipping.
Slice halloumi cheese into thick slabs and grill or pan-fry until golden on both sides. Arrange the sizzling halloumi over a bed of warm taktouka. The salty, squeaky cheese contrasts perfectly with the smoky peppers.
Serve a generous spoonful of taktouka alongside grilled sea bass, sardines, or salmon. The bright acidity and smoky sweetness of the salad cut through the richness of the fish beautifully.
Warm pita bread and stuff it with taktouka, crumbled feta, fresh mint, and a drizzle of olive oil. This makes an excellent quick lunch or mezze plate addition that travels well.
