Pepper and Eggplant Paste from the Balkans / Ajvar
Spicy, versatile sauce from Balkans.
Servings 1 serving dish
Calories 62kcal
Ingredients
- 2 eggplants medium size
- 2 large red peppers
- 3 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin
- 1 onion chopped
- 3 garlic cloves crushed
- 3 tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes to taste
- 1 tablespoons vinegar grape or apple
Instructions
Eggplants and Red Peppers
- Wash the eggplants and the peppers. Make little pricks all around with a tooth pick.
- Roast in a pre-heated oven at 230° Celsius. Until almost burnt on all sides.
- Put the peppers in a glass container with a lid, if not available in a plastic food bag. Keep until they cool. This will make peeling easier.
- Meanwhile cut the eggplants vertically in the middle. Scoop up the contents with a spoon. Discard seeds if too black, keep others.
- Place all the peeled peppers and the eggplants in a wire colander. Press with your palm or with the back of a wooden spoon to get rid of the excess water in the vegetables.
Sauce
- Chop well the onions. Add the olive oil in a pot together with the onions and cook stiring once in a while until the onions are translucent.
- Add the churshed garlic cloves, saute for 1-2 minutes.
- Meanwhile grate the tomatoes and add to the onions. Cook until the tomatoes are almost mashed and the water of the tomatoes evaporates.
- Now combine the tomato sauce and the vegetables. Use a food processor to turn the mixture into a paste.
- Then put the paste again to the pot to simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add the vinegar and all the spices to taste. Close the heat, set aside to cool.
- Keeps in the fridge in a glass jar for a weeks. Drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil to protect.