I called this spread “Ajvar 3“ in 1, because it is ajvar, malidjano and pindjur at the same time. All 3 represent similar red pepper spread where the basic ingredient is the roasted red pepper. I am making the recipe for the second time by measuring carefully this time so that I can write down the correct amount of the ingredients precisely and share it with you guys. We love it at home and I plan to do another round the next week.
It goes perfectly with any food.
The recipe is adapted for home preparation, you don't need a basement or go to the village to make it. To be honest, I enjoyed the preparation and it didn't give me a hard time nor many dishes to wash.
The peppers I used are those we use for making ajvar. But you can use whatever is available in the place you live. For those who like it hot, add some chili peppers in the mixture.
Ingredients:
- 7 kg of red sweet ajvar peppers (15.5 lb)
- 3 large eggplants
- 500 ml of tomato puree (2 cups)
- 250 ml of oil (1 cup)
- 1 head of cleaned chopped garlic
- 2 tablespoons of salt
- 3 tablespoons of sugar
- 70 ml of wine vinegar (1/3 cup)
- 2 tablespoons of mustard
- fresh chopped parsley if desired
Preparation:
- First, the peppers are washed and cleaned from the stalks and seeds. The stalk is pressed inward with the thumb, a hole is made, and then the stalk with all the seeds is taken out. If you're good at it, you'll clear them all in half an hour. Black tomatoes are washed and their tops are cut off. They are cut in half.
- Then in a tray covered with baking (or aluminium) paper, arrange the peppers as long as there is room. Bake in the oven on the middle rack at the highest temperature, turning once for about 30 to 40 minutes.
- Place the roasted peppers in a large pot or pan and cover with plastic wrap.
- The procedure is repeated with the rest of the peppers, you can put the eggplants whenever you want. You will need to repeat the roasting about 3 more times. Change baking paper at every round if the paper is damaged or unclean.
- Covered and baked like that, you leave them to sit for a few hours, I left them overnight and peeled them in the morning. Peeling took me half an hour.
- After they are peeled, they are put to be ground in a grinding machine. I have an electric machine so they were ready in 5 minutes. Another option is to tear them and grind them with a hand blender. The first time I left them larger, the second smaller - do it to your taste.
- Then put the ground peppers, eggplants and tomato puree in a large pot to start frying on a medium temperature for about 15 minutes. Stir.
- Add the oil gradually and stir constantly. Fry for about 30 minutes, then add all the other ingredients. Stir constantly and fry for another 10 minutes.
- Take 1 teaspoon of the spread and put on a small plate, leave to cool for several minutes and try it. Check if it needs more salt.
- Then transfer the finished ajvar into hot jars and close them immediately. From this amount I got 5 and a half large jars.
- Once the jars have cooled, transfer them to the refrigerator.
Cheers.
