Ajvar (Balkan Vegetable Caviar)

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Ajvar (Balkan Vegetable Caviar)

 

2 large eggplants

6 large red or green sweet peppers

salt

pepper

1 garlic clove, minced

1 lemon, juiced

1/2 cup oil, preferably olive oil

parsley, minced

 

Bake eggplants and sweet peppers at 350 F until tender

when pierced with a fork. Peel skin from hot

vegetables and chop or mince the vegetables. Season to

taste with salt and pepper and stir in the garlic and

lemon juice. Gradually stir in as much of the oil as

the vegetables will absorb. Mix well. Pile into a

glass dish and sprinkle with parsley.

Serve as an appetizer spread on thick slices of

country-style white bread, or flat pita bread, or use

as a side dish to accompany grilled or roasted meats

especially lamb.

Chervil is sometimes used instead of parsley. You

could also add fresh paprikas or hot red chiles, a

minced onion or a little red wine or red wine vinegar

for a portion of the lemon juice.

Instead of roasting the vegetables in a 350 degree

oven you can roast the peppers and eggplant over

charcoal or gas flame, or bake in a preheated oven at

475 degrees until the skins are blistered and black.

Place the roasted vegetables in a paper bag and let

them steam in their own heat for 10 minutes. Peel off

and discard the burnt skins along with the stems and

seeds. Mash the pepper and eggplant pulp together to

form a homogeneous mass, either smooth or slightly

chunky, as desired.

String beans and unripe tomatoes can be combined into

ajvar. Fresh ajvar is always made during summer and

early autumn, just after the paprika harvest, when

many households can or bottle their own ajvar for use

throughout the year.