MOROCCAN TOMATO SALAD (MATBUCHA)

SERVES 6 / PREPARATION 40 MINUTES / COOKING 2 HOURS

This traditional Moroccan salad is actually more like a dip, and makes a great addition to mezze plates alongside Turkish bread, garlicky hummus and good olives.

2 red capsicums 2 red chillies 10 medium tomatoes 1 teaspoon cumin seeds 5 cloves garlic, crushed 1 teaspoon sea salt ½ teaspoon sweet smoked paprika 1 teaspoon regular paprika ¼ cup olive oil 1 tablespoon sugar Turkish bread, olives and hummus to serve

Preheat the oven to 230°C. Cut the central cores from the capsicums and sit the capsicums, base down, in two holes of a muffin tin. Make a few slits in the chillies and sit them in two more holes.

Put in the oven and roast, removing the chillies carefully after 12 minutes and putting in a glass bowl. Leave the capsicums to roast for 6 more minutes or until the skins are blackening, then remove from the oven and add to the bowl with the chillies. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to steam for half an hour.

Use a small, sharp knife to peel the skins off the capsicums and chillies. Split the chillies lengthwise and scrape out the seeds then roughly chop. Roughly chop the capsicums.

With the tip of a sharp knife, make a small x in the base of each tomato and put into a baking dish. Half fill the sink with cold water and drop in a cup of ice cubes. Fully cover the tomatoes with boiling water, leave for 30 seconds then transfer to the the iced water for 5 minutes.

Use the tip of a sharp knife to peel the skins from the tomatoes. Quarter the tomatoes and put in a medium saucepan with the roasted capsicums and chillies, the cumin, garlic, salt, both types of paprika, oil and sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally, over a gentle heat for 1¾ hours until it is thick and rich.

Serve as part of a mezze platter with warm Turkish bread, olives and hummus, or as an accompaniment to roasted meat such as the lamb shoulder.

WINE An off-dry pinot gris – try the Nautilus Estate Marlborough Pinot Gris 2015.