#Matbucha

[morethansalad]

Moroccan Matbucha Salad (Vegan)

[copperbadge]

Still badgering away at The Chicken Salad War and I did not realize how delighted I was going to be by introducing semi-masc nonbinary Jes Deimos to gallant butch Ylias Lazaar. I don't quite know where their subplot is going to go if anywhere but I feel like it may be somewhere awesome.

"Mr. Lazaar," said a familiar voice, and she turned to see LeFevre at her elbow, looking pleased. "A great success for you, I think." 

"Seems to have gone all right, yeah," she agreed. "I heard you were going to crash."

"Alas, I could not -- I ended up invited," he said, grinning. 

"And you brought guests?"

"Ah, I didn't mean to bring the royal family down on your head so soon," he said, leaning in. "They are terrible gossips; I should have remembered when I told King Theophile that he would likely share the information. Still, His Grace Gerald is pleased you use his oil and His Grace Michaelis enjoyed the matbucha greatly."

"And you? No constructive criticism?" she asked. 

"Not tonight. I have never opened a restaurant myself, but I can understand this is your triumph! And in any case they are small quibbles. I will need to dine here more times before I speak," he replied. Someone tapped him on the arm, and he turned, then nodded at the person standing just behind him -- the one who'd been speaking with the old king a moment before. "Mr. Lazaar, may I present Ser Deimos, who came with His Grace. This is Mr. Lazaar, the chef of the hour. She/her," he added with a smile. 

Ser Deimos looked amused. "They/them," they said, holding out a hand. "We're honored to be able to attend -- I don't think we realized when Gerald told us he was going that it was your soft open." 

"It's my pleasure. Not everyone gets to feed the royal family on their first night," she replied, bowing over their hand. "And you're an ornament to any dining room." 

Deimos looked delighted. "Thank you, that's kind of you to say. If I'd known the food was going to be this good I'd have scared up a party. I have a lot of friends in from out of country at the moment."

"Well, we open reservations tomorrow morning -- but for the royal family, I can set aside a table," Ylias replied. 

"Don't, just yet," Deimos said, looking around. "I'm thinking more of a party. Could we rent the restaurant?"

"The whole restaurant?" Ylias asked, blinking. Simon looked smug. 

"If not, that's fine -- we'll take the offer of a table -- but my son's graduating next week, and we were thinking of a group dinner the night before. Simon here is catering the night of," they added. "It'll be twenty or thirty people, and some of them have been doubtful that Fons-Askaz could live up to New York, foodwise. Yes, I felt the same," they added, catching Ylias's expression. "The only thing Fons-Askaz can't offer that New York can is the pizza, and only because our Eddie hasn't got the time to open a pizza restaurant." 

"I hadn't..." Ylias fumbled slightly. "I'm sorry, we have a catering menu but I hadn't arranged any kind of contract for renting the space. It'd need to be a handshake deal and I couldn't quote a fee off the top of my head."

"Of course, I threw this at you with no warning. Here," they said, reaching into their pocket for a wallet and pulling out a card. "Email or phone is fine. If you can send me a proposal by Sunday, I can make a deposit on Monday. I'm comfortable with an informal deal as long as we have terms written out over email. If you don't feel ready, just let me know -- we'll definitely be back regardless." 

"I'll be in touch," Ylias managed. Deimos gave her a bow and a smile, and retreated to their table.

[Then, later]

As they left Plate & Press, full of good food and possibly slightly tipsy, Jes leaned against Michaelis's arm and said, "Holy shit."

He gave them an amused look. "Yes, the food was very good. Nice space, too. I can't remember the last time I had such a pleasant evening out."

"Well, yeah, but I meant the chef," they said. He glanced at them, frowning.

"The Lazaar fellow?"

"Lady, I think. Uncertain, actually. Butch, possibly. She/her but Simon called her Mr. Lazaar." 

"I noticed her, but I didn't see anything particularly unusual. Why?" 

"I love you to bits but you're hopeless," they said. "You really didn't think she was hot?"

"I don't form opinions about sex appeal, generally," he reminded them. "Present company excepted." 

"Well, she is hot in a very specific way -- like you, actually, sort of masculine and chivalrous -- and she called me an ornament to her dining room. I may have had a little moment." 

He laughed. "Oh dear, am I going to have to fight a chef for your favors?" 

"No, it's just nice to know I still got it." 

He kissed the side of their head, affectionate. "You're an ornament wherever you go, but I'll make a note to remind you of it more often. Seems she's making a stir -- Simon likes her also, I think. Sometime soon we're going to have to kick Gregory and Eddie out of the residence for an evening, and I think I'll recommend that place for dinner. Gregory loves Tunisian food and I think Eddie would find a lot to interest him."

"You just want to spend a whole evening cuddling babies," Jes said. 

"Joan and the twins all require the benefit of my wisdom on a regular basis," he said. There was a wolf-whistle directed at them from somewhere over their heads; some young wag, out on the second-floor balcony of a small hotel, clearly getting an early start on Pride. She waved a pink-and-blue flag in their direction. 

"You can't have him!" Jes called. 

"I was whistling at you!" the girl called back. 

"I'll take him," her friend offered from the chair next to her. 

Michaelis chuckled. "Drink some water, young ladies, or you'll be in no condition for the parade this weekend," he called. 

"Vodka's sixty percent water!" someone on another balcony shouted, and someone else yelled for everyone to keep it down, and the discussion went on without them. 

[mariacallous]

Amy Dell is bonafide New York Jewish food royalty, so it may have been inevitable that she’d enter the business, too.

Dell’s father, Haim Dadi, is a chef and former owner of Mr. Broadway, the super-sized glatt kosher deli in midtown. Meanwhile, her husband, Jake, is the third-generation owner of Katz’s Deli, arguably the city’s most famous purveyor of pastrami and other Ashkenazi Jewish delicacies.

Now Dell, 33, is hoping to take her own place in the Jewish food pantheon, with a bit of an Israeli spin. Last month, she launched her company, Sababa Foods, and its first product, Saturday Sauce, hit grocery store shelves that same day. Known in the Middle East as matbucha, Dell’s sauce is made from crushed tomatoes, garlic, hot pepper and cumin. It’s designed to be used as a marinade or a base for a stew, soup or shakshuka, a North African dish of eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce, which is very popular in Israel.

Dell’s Saturday Sauce joins other Middle Eastern jarred sauces on the market, like New York Shuk’s Signature Matbucha or Mina’s Shakshuka Sauce. Dell told the New York Jewish Week that her verison is spicy, heavy on the cumin, made with largely organic ingredients and “closer to a jam versus what is out there now.”

[falsegod]

Homemade hummus zhug and matbucha my beloved

[onmymasa22]

When u tell ur dad that u started a rockclimbing membership and he's just pissed ur still not in a Krav maga class cuz "it's important for u to confidently punch a guy"

Me: i just started going to a rockclimbing place, did it for an hour. Man in another few months im gonna be so strong

I felt bad about ppl i love being at a birthday party for a guy who disgusts me and not heing invited. And the video i saw from someones instagram had the cops showing up and arresting someone. And im so happy i wasnt there. Cuz im too old for being at a party where police is called. And they arrest someone. Like, do that w out me playing music past 11pm. I dont want to be there.

ערב ראשון שלבד

אני יושב וכותב לך מכתב

Plants that we believe

Esrog tree

Bag keys- black and sparkly

Its funny when u havea few different places to be on a thursday night, but u just want to lay in bed. U want to rest for taking care of yourself tomorrow

Something really special:

This weeks parsha is yisro. We have the aseres hadibros in this parsha, its the parsha that the whole torah stands on. The first word is anochi. Anochi hashem elokecha. But ani is hehrew. Where does the word anichi come from. Its actually an egyption word for "i". Enok, or enoch. And its the most important word because one meaning of saying i in egyption language is that u speak to ppl in their language. We had just come out of egypt. But a beautiful interpretation is that when hashem says that, hes saying i was in egypt. Dont be ashamed of any part of ur past. I was there with u. U cant grow from it if u dont address it. This parsha is called yisro, not moshe. Yisro worshiped every idol known to man, and hashem looks at him and says "u r mine!" Psychologically u meet ppl where theyre at. U speak to others in their lamguage. But the love of hashem is "u r mine"

What i realized:

U r u, and i am me. Ur personality is urs, mine is mine and i dont want urs

When u didnt do anything wrong,

When someone does something wrong to u, singles u out infront of others, ignores u around others, but u didnt do anything wrong, ur not so much embarrassed as disgusted and confused with how a jew can do that to another jew. Its a weird feeling cuz i wouldve thought id b embarrassed.

I want my room to be jazz, rich aunt themed.

Maybe im just a girl who misses home. Who misses watching stupid movies with her mom, saying "ur gonna hate this, let's see it tonight"

Missing pineapple pizza and onion rings my brother brings me when I've had a hard few days. Missing listening to my dad explain to me for the millionth time how football, or cameras, or ice skating works. Miss laughing so hard I can't breathe and tear up from it. Missing the challah my mom makes. And missing playing the yiddish dirty version of monopoly from the 1960s we all play with my grandpa. Missing mornings that smell like coffee and vanilla. Missing sitting on the deck and reading vogue with my mom. Missing early morning walks with my dog. Missing laying in bed with my mom and she makes me hold her hand no matter how sweaty mine are. I miss when my dad hold my hand in the car on the way home from the airport and says "i cant believe ur here". Ever since i was in the hospital cuz i almost died and my parents did everything they could from afar, i cry every time i leave them.

Its a weird thing. When u go from being a teen and thinking ur mom is ruining ur life. To when ur in ur twenties and lay in bed woth ur mom at night until ur dad comes up. And u talk and she grabs ur hand no matter how sweaty it is.

U know whats funny. Get used to the feeling of having so much more to know, because u dont lose that.

Sometimes a girl just wants spinach. To throw a crap ton of spinach into a pan, throw on some olive oil, some salt. Cook some eggs, throw it on a bagel with matbucha, pour on some tehina. Sometimes, this is what a girl wants.

I can always sense when im talking to someone with adhd because im with someone who's on my level of excitement

Some people r nice. They're friendly and can have a conversation. And some people r just assholes. So i give the benefit of the doubt and think maybe u will change. But sometimes, thats just ur face. Ur just ugly on the inside. And i have trouble sometimes accepting that ppl r assholes. But they are.

U know the weird thing about people? I like to give ppl the benefit of the doubt and think maybe ppl r just having a bad day. But im slowly learning that sometimes, its not about me. They are just an asshole. Shabbat taught me that sometimes ppl r just assholes. And trust my radar. Cuz i felt so awful when i gave someone a chance to be a person. I thought that maybe there was a glimmer of good. But im so sorry, it was my mistake. But look. The lowest low of shabbat had nothing to do with me. I didnt hurt anyone. I was with 70 ppl. And i didnt make anyone feel bad. Thats such an accomplishment. Theres no silver lining to it. I just want to throw up from u. Erase u from everything. I'm so disgusted with u in my presence. Its a weird mix of disgusted and embarrassed.

The way u treated me, I'm just disgusted of a Jew doing that to another Jew. I couldn't imagine doing that. I hope i never do that. I never want to be in the core chevra. I want to be the girl that makes everyone feel included. The idea of ppl on the inside versus outside is gross to me.

It was a different kind of embarrassment. I had no idea it existed. I wasn't embarrassed cuz i had nothing to be embarrassed of. I was just disgusted. That one Jew could do that to another.

I dont want anything to do with mindy. I dont want anything to do with any of that. U were wrong. It wasnt me. Im me abd u r u. But u disgusted me. Im not here to tell u what to workon. I HAVE NOTHING TO BE EMBARRASSED ABOHT. THIS WAS ABOUT SOMETHING I KNEW ABD SHE DIDNT. I WAS JUST NOT IN THE LOOP.

[haunt-till-it-hurts]

Made matbucha today for my sister and I! Took like 3 hours lol

[makinglightweight]

61/365

🧡 Bachelard 🐊 eating crap

1 protein yoghurt

2 oatmeal servings with candied pecans

1 cup of pasta with tomato and cauliflowers

2 walkers cookies

1 banana

15 pralines

15 cashews

2 slices of homemade bread

150g beef no fat

2 fish kebabs

1 potato

1/2 artichoke

1 radish

4 scoops mashed zucchini

4 scoops matbucha

1 cucumber

1/4 apple

1/4 orange

1/2 kiwi

[edenfenixblogs]

If you get Moroccan food you also get a lot of Jewish food as well. Jewish foods are noted.

Some good Moroccan food (both Jewish and not Jewish):

Dafina (Jewish) (aka Adafina)

Tajine (Jewish, but not exclusively)

Msemmen

Lamb couscous

Bourekas (Jewish)

Chermoula with fish (not specifically Jewish, but part of Jewish cuisine)

Harira (Jewish but not exclusively)

Matbucha (Jewish but not exclusively)

Mufleta/Mofleta (Jewish)

Naa-Naa (aka Moroccan Mint Tea) (Not Jewish but part of Moroccan Jewish cuisine)

Pastilla (Jewish)

Raricha (Jewish, can’t find link but here’s the excerpt about it from the encyclopedia of Jewish Food)

Everything with Ras el Hanout (not specifically Jewish but part of Moroccan Jewish cuisine) (this is my fave spice blend)

Zaban (Jewish, but not exclusively)

Spiced coffee (coffee with warming spices and orange blossom water)

Ferakh Maamer

Roasted Lamb

Potato fritters

Djaj mqalli (chicken cooked with preserved lemon)

Various cooked salads

Various deserts fried or baked with syrup or honey and orange, sesame seeds, warming spices

There’s also lots of Moroccan food influenced by Persian and Spanish and Italian cuisine so there’s overlap in things with pistachio, rose/rosewater, and tomato.

Moroccan food is very versatile. It can be rich and warming and savory but also sweetened with various fruits. But it can also be light and fresh but hearty enough to sustain you for a long day. It has influences from all over and it is so flavorful. But there’s also nice not too flavorful dishes if you get easily overwhelmed.

A++++++

(if I missed any popular ones, apologies, I was just looking at the most common ones to have restaurants by skimming those in the area)

[ronniefein]

Hanukkah’s over and I am already on to New Year’s weekend, contemplating what to serve to my cousins, who always stay for a few days.

Years ago, our “group” — the cousins, Les and Neil, plus my sister-in-law Eileen and bother Jeff — agreed that on New Year’s Eve we would have a day of hors d’oeuvres rather than a big sit-down dinner. We break the day up into separate eating times so that at noonish we will have such goodies as Almond Crusted Chicken Nuggets and Lamb kebabs and a dip or two: Potlagela and Matbucha for sure and probably hummus.

Later on we’ll feast on Pizza with Spinach, Tomato and Cheese, Romanian Cheese Turnovers and an assortment of cheese and crackers accompanied by the Pepper Jam I made last summer from the chili peppers in my garden. Maybe some Lox and Cream Cheese Spread.

Dessert — always one of the apple pies I made last fall. And I’m thinking — Irish Whiskey Cake, because it is one of the most scrumptious cakes ever created.

I used to have a New Year’s Day brunch for the group, but haven’t done that for years. It was always too much food and too much work and so it’s just the cousins and us for plain old breakfast, meaning smoked fish and bagels.

Plus fruit of some sort.

This year I decided the fruit will be one of the simplest recipes I’ve ever made. Broiled Grapefruit. Honestly, it doesn’t get easier than this one.

Follow me on Instagram @RonnieVFein

BROILED GRAPEFRUIT

4 medium red or pink grapefruit

4 tablespoons turbinado (or other crystal) sugar

cinnamon or grated nutmeg

Aleppo pepper or cayenne pepper, optional

Preheat the broiler with the rack 4-6 inches below the heat. Slice each grapefruit in half,** then (preferably using a serrated grapefruit knife) cut around the edges of each half to loosen the flesh, then cut the flesh into segments inside the shell. Place the prepared grapefruit halves on a baking sheet. Sprinkle each half with equal amounts of the sugar (each whole grapefruit (2 halves) will get about one tablespoon of sugar). Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon or nutmeg. Add a hint of pepper if desired. Broil for about 6-8 minutes or until the surface is caramelized.

Makes 4 servings

**I also slice the bottom of the grapefruit halves so they are more stable on the baking pan.

[mariacallous]

I was washing dishes and listening to my favorite Jewish podcast, “Unorthodox,” when I was stopped in my tracks by a sandwich. A trendy Israeli sandwich created only a few years ago in Tel Aviv that, rudely, no one had bothered to tell me about! The show’s cohost mentioned it in passing — “challah with schnitzel” — and that was enough to send me straight to the grocery store.

The “Shabbat Sandwich,” named after the Friday night Sabbath when Jews typically eat challah, is thick slices of squishy challah sandwiching crispy chicken schnitzel, fried eggplant, tahini, Israeli pickles and a mighty shmear of matbucha, a Moroccan tomato pepper relish. Preparing this sandwich is a bit of a project, but you can make a lot of the components a day or two in advance.

Be aware that some bakeries only sell challah on Fridays. Instead of slicing the bread, you can also serve it as one giant challah choagie cut up party style!

Notes:

Israeli pickles are typically sold in cans in Middle Eastern markets or online. They are full-sour, far more puckery than a dill pickle, chartreuse and on the softer side of crisp.

Matbucha is a slightly spicy Moroccan tomato-pepper relish often found snuggled up next to other cold salads, spreads and olives on Middle Eastern and North African tables, just waiting to be swiped up with fresh bread or pita. If matbucha sounds new to you, it might be more familiar than you think: it’s also the base for shakshuka! Leftovers can be warmed in a pan and thinned out with a little tomato puree or water before you crack a few eggs in to steam. The matbucha can be prepared a day or two before the Shabbat sandwiches, stored in a sealed container in the fridge.

[ooocke]

[knight-of-skyloft]

Uh uh uh uh *flips through notebook*

I don't like challah. Especially not with matbucha.

Nailed it.

it's officially jew-lie first, make sure not to tell the truth this month

[globalfoodiee]

Matbucha

Matbucha is a popular Moroccan and Israeli dish that is made by cooking a mixture of roasted bell peppers, tomatoes, garlic, and spices until it becomes a thick and chunky dip. It is often served as an appetizer or a side dish, and can be eaten hot or cold. The dish has a rich and complex flavor that comes from the combination of the roasted vegetables, garlic, and spices, and is often enjoyed as…

[violavox]

Moroccan Matbucha

[alfsanpol]

Moroccan Matbucha

[zorciarkrildrush]

Schnitzel in challah with matbucha spread is like a staple junk food in Israel lmao

Can you make sandwiches with challah? I've never seen anyone do it, but I feel like it would taste good. So if I've got some left over... are there any rules and/or customs that I'm unaware of that say I shouldn't?

.