No more babysitting your matbucha on the stovetop! This oven-roasted matbucha is a much easier version of the Moroccan specialty!

I lived out of town for many years, in a community where there weren’t many good kosher dips to buy. The local grocery store carried a few of the commercial brands that no one in my family cared for and they were also extremely expensive. As I mentioned in my homemade chummus post, my father always used to bring home the best dips from the local takeouts — but I didn’t have that option. For years, I just didn’t serve dips. I would put out lots of little salads, but no dips. But then a friend once said to me, “Why don’t you make your own ?” I don’t know why I never thought of that myself, but that was when my dip-making craze began! (Of course, this led to me having to make a lot more challah, because my family and guests could not get enough!)

Matbucha was one of the first dips I learned how to make. My Ashkenazic self was clueless, but I grew up with a lot of Moroccan classmates and so I called my old friend Ora Fortgang to walk me through the process. Ora patiently explained to me the importance of “low and slow” when it comes to making matbucha and that it needs to be made on the stove top. You have to watch it and stir it often. She advised that I start my Shabbos cooking with the matbucha, so that while I would be cooking everything else, it could simmer on the stove and I could “babysit” it.

That first week, I made it as she instructed. I loved watching the tomatoes slowly cook down, getting darker and thicker, and my kitchen becoming more and more fragrant. I kept texting Ora with play-by-play updates and when the matbucha was finally ready, I was so excited that I brought a piping hot spoonful to my husband to taste. I was beyond ecstatic at the success of making homemade matbucha. It made a nice amount and it felt great to bring a big bowl of it to the table on Friday night as my guests ooohed and ahhed. I watched happily as piece after piece of challah was eaten, loaded with matbucha.

The next Thursday, my husband said, “I hope you’re going to make matbucha again. It was so good!” I smiled and said, “Of course!”

After that, it became a staple on our menu, but after a while…I wasn’t so excited about it anymore. While I loved the process of making matbucha, it took so long! As a full-time working mother, I needed quick and easy recipes. In addition, I often had leftovers sitting in my fridge and although my husband ate it throughout the week, it eventually had to be thrown out.

Sadly, homemade matbucha was put on the back burner, and I started making it only for Yamim Tovim or special Shabbosos.

Until, I started to wonder—

What if I roasted the matbucha in the oven instead of cooking it on the stovetop and babysitting it for hours?

What if I froze the matbucha in small batches so I could take it out as needed instead of having to throw out the leftovers?

Voila! My matbucha suddenly reappeared on my weekly menu!

I’ll be honest — when you bake it, it doesn’t have the same deep, bold flavor as when you make it stovetop, but I’m the only one who notices that (either that or my guests are too polite to complain!). I like to make a big batch after I’ve done a lot of recipe testing and I have extra produce sitting in my fridge that I need to use up. And, like I’ve discovered, you can successfully freeze any leftovers!

This is one recipe of mine that went viral on Instagram. Week after week, I have people asking me for it.

Oven-roasetd matbucha is extremely versatile: You can use any kind of tomato; if you have extra peppers or even zucchini in your fridge, you can chop it up and add it. (I know, I know, all my Moroccan friends are clucking their tongues, saying that ain’t matbucha, but whatever it is, I make it work!)

Like it spicy? Add more cayenne pepper or more jalapenos — or be daring and add a habanero! Don’t like the spice? Skip all of the above! There are two ways to make oven-roasted matbucha: You can roast the vegetables on a cookie sheet and then pulse it in the food processor (this gives the dip a bit of a smokier taste), or you can chop all the vegetables, put them in a 9×13 and bake on 400 for about 1-1½ hours until done (you want to see some crispy char on top). Either way works great — I do both, depending on my mood.

Easy Oven-Roasted Matbucha

Delicious homemade matbucha, minus all the "babysitting"!

Print Recipe

Ingredients

1½ pints grape tomatoes
1 onion, sliced in half rounds
5 cloves garlic
2 jalapenos, sliced in half lengthwise
1 red pepper sliced in half lengthwise
Oil, for drizzling
Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Arrange all vegetables on a cookie sheet. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
Bake for 30-40 minutes, checking every 10-15 minutes, until veggies are starting to char.
Place all vegetables in food processor fitted with the s-blade and pulse a few times to break everything up.

Notes

Freezes well.
Variation: You can also chop all the vegetables before roasting, place in a 9×13, drizzle with oil and spices, and baked at 400 for 1-1½ hours until done.