What is taktouka, the Moroccan pepper and tomato salad?

Taktouka is zaalouk’s close cousin, and the two so often share a plate that visitors mix them up. Where zaalouk leans on aubergine, taktouka is all about peppers and tomato. Green peppers are charred and peeled, tomatoes are cooked down with garlic, olive oil, cumin, and paprika, and the whole thing is simmered into a soft, slightly soupy, deeply flavoured cooked salad. The charring of the peppers gives it a gentle smokiness.

The flavour is sweeter and brighter than zaalouk — the peppers bring a mellow sweetness, the tomato a fruity tang, and the cumin and garlic ground it. It is looser in texture, almost saucy, which is why it is so good for scooping with bread. I find it refreshing and light, a lovely foil to the richer meat dishes that follow it in a Moroccan meal.

Like other Moroccan cooked salads, taktouka belongs to that wonderful array of small starters that opens a proper meal, served warm or cool. It is humble, vegetable-forward home food, and excellent for vegetarians. Some families add a little preserved lemon or a poached egg on top to make it more of a meal, and in the north you will sometimes see it served with fish.

You will encounter taktouka on traditional menus and at family tables right across Morocco, usually next to zaalouk so you can compare the two in one sitting — which I always encourage guests to do. The secret to a great one is properly grilled, peeled peppers, so on cooking classes I have people char them over an open flame. Eat it with warm bread and good olive oil and you have a perfect light Moroccan starter.