This recipe is part of Asif’s Open Kitchen Project where cooks who were evacuated during the war are invited to a home in Tel Aviv to cook a dish that they miss from their own home. Would you like to participate in the project? Register here.
Before the war, Aliza Zwigi’s (59) children knew that every Friday afternoon their mother’s homemade bread would be waiting for them — along with matbucha and freshly fried schnitzel and eggplant. They would all be set out in her home in Kiryat Shmona, ready to be assembled into a Friday afternoon sandwich.
Two of Aliza’s four children are currently serving as soldiers in Gaza and the north while she and her remaining family have been evacuated from their home and are living in a hotel in Tel Aviv. She feels sad that she can no longer cook for them. “It’s what they love the most and look forward to the most,” she says, “and it hurts my heart — it’s too much for me.” Aliza reminisces about Fridays at her house when her son’s friends would wake up around noon, skip coffee, and dive straight into her pots and stews.
Amidst the memories and yearnings, Aliza takes a moment to express gratitude to her host Hanit Ohayon-Hadad, for the opportunity to cook in her Tel Aviv home. Together, they enter the kitchen along with Aliza’s friend Pirchiya Sabbag, who was also evacuated from her home in Kiryat Shmona. They’ve known one another since they worked as assistants in a kindergarten years ago. Reunited in the evacuee hotel, their bond has grown even stronger and today, the two are busy making plans to cook more and more dishes.
“It’s like a dream come true,” Aliza says to their host. “In the hotel, there is noise and chaos all the time, and we have no peace of mind at all.” She adds that she’s enjoyed disconnecting from that and is excited to invite her children for a meal at the hotel.
Aliza generously shares the recipe for her famous matbucha below, offering a quantity suitable for a relatively small container. However, in her kitchen, she explains, she prepares vast quantities of it. Anyone visiting her home leaves with a box, so they can add it to their Friday sandwich and enjoy it in the days that follow.
- 15 (1.3 kg/3 lb) tomatoes
- 2-3 hot green chili peppers
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
- ½ teaspoons turmeric
- 1 teaspoon salt
- For the seasoned oil:
- 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
- ¼ cup + 3 tablespoons (100 ml) neutral vegetable oil
1. Peel the tomatoes: Cut a small X on the bottom of each tomato and place them in a bowl. Pour boiling water over the tomatoes to cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Carefully remove them from the hot water and peel off the skin. Roughly chop the tomatoes and chili peppers and place in a pot over medium heat.
2. Add the garlic and cook for 15 minutes.
3. Add the paprika, turmeric, and salt and use a potato masher to mix and mash the mixture.
4. Reduce to a low heat and cook, uncovered, for 50-60 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the matbucha is a thick paste and all the liquids have evaporated.
5. Prepare the seasoned oil: Mix the oil and paprika in a cup and pour over the matbucha. Mix well and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat.
6. Transfer the matbucha to a heat resistant glass container. Once cooled, seal with a lid and refrigerate. The matbucha will keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
