Tchoutchouka: Moroccan Roasted Pepper and Tomato Salad

With a husband who doesn’t eat green peppers and a daughter who doesn’t eat anything green (with the exception of green candy, of course) I had the entire tchoutchouka to myself. Talk about excitement. I would love for them to include the joy of green peppers in their life but I must admit that, secretly, I was happy I had no competition. Next time, I will be less selfish and make it with red peppers so they, too, can experience the wonders of this marvelous dish.

Tchouktchouka is as traditional a Moroccan dish as traditional can get. I kept the recipe authentic and unchanged in honor of generations and generations of cooks who made it the same way in every big town, small hamlet, and nameless village on the map of Morocco.

Dip your bread in it, serve it as a side dish, sandwich spread or Moroccan-style bruschetta on crusty whole-grain bread. It is guaranteed delicious any way you choose to eat it and well worth a try!





















Tchoutchouka Recipe

4 servings

2 medium green bell peppers
2 medium tomatoes, peeled and diced
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon ground paprika

Roast the peppers by charring them directly on the stove, turning them occasionally, until the skin is blackened and blistered all over, about 10 minutes. Place the peppers in a paper bag and close it, for about 15 minutes, to allow the peppers to sweat and their skin to become softer. Peel the skin off the peppers using your fingers. Discard the stem and seeds. Finely dice the peppers. Set aside.

Place the tomatoes in a medium skillet with olive oil. Add the garlic and season the tomatoes with salt, pepper, cumin and paprika. Cook the tomatoes until they become soft and turn into somewhat of a thick, chunky sauce, 10 to 15 minutes. Mix in the diced peppers and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.

Serve with bread or crackers.

Cranberry Hummus

Waiiit…don’t throw away your leftover cranberry sauce. Recycle it!

OK, I know you haven’t digested your Thanksgiving dinner yet, but you’re not done with Thanksgiving flavors yet. I haven’t digested mine yet either but I know that as soon as I have I will want more pumpkin, more cranberries, more pecans in my life. I know I will be having them many times many ways before the year is over.

So, if you have any cranberries or cranberry sauce left, please make this hummus. You’ve got to make it, for your own sake, please! Chances are you still have family over and you want a great dip to mingle around. Everybody loves hummus and has a great conversation at its presence. I know so. Imagine how pleased everybody will be to see yesterday’s cranberry sauce in the hummus. They’ll love you for that.

Now a bit of description, so listen up. This is not a traditional hummus, meaning it’s not made with hummus (chickpeas in Arabic). It is made with cannellini beans which give a smoother dip. The cranberry sauce adds a tart, almost lemony taste. The flavor is bright and redolent of half traditional hummus, half cranberry dessert. All in all, a fantastic dip!








































Cranberry Hummus Recipe

4 to 6 servings

1 garlic clove, peeled
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained (or 1.5 cups home cooked beans)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ cup cranberry sauce


In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the garlic until finely minced. Add the cannellini beans, lemon juice, tahini and olive oil. Purée until you obtain a smooth paste. Transfer to a serving bowl. Stir in the cranberry sauce until the dip becomes pink. Serve with pita, flatbread, chips or crudités.


Basic Cranberry Sauce

Yields ½ cup

1 cup fresh cranberries
½ cup orange juice
¼ cup water
2 tablespoons honey
¼ teaspoon grated orange zest

To make the cranberry sauce, combine all of the ingredients in a small saucepan. Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally and pressing the cranberries down, until you get a thick sauce, 10 to 15 minutes.