ajvar recipe

In this post, we&#x27;ll share the traditional ajvar recipe and teach you how to prepare this delicious Balkan spread at home in less than 3 hours.

Ajvar Recipe

Large Red Peppers (Ajvarka/Red Bull Horn Pepper/ Bell Pepper

Eggplant

Cup Sunflower Oil

Salt

Teaspoon Sugar

Teaspoon Black Pepper

Teaspoon White Vinegar

Tablespoon Chopped Parsley (optional)

Our take on this classic European red pepper spread. Perfect as a dip, sandwich spread, with pasta, and more!

Ajvar (Roasted Red Pepper Dip)

5-6 sweet red peppers*

garlic

olive oil

white vinegar

kosher salt +

Preheat oven to 425°F (218ºC). Place peppers on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes on the top oven rack. Using tongs, rotate peppers and roast for an additional 20 minutes, until softened and charred.

Transfer peppers to a bowl with a tight fitting lid. Let steam/cool until they are cool enough to handle.

Remove skin, stems and seeds from the peppers.

Place peppers and garlic cloves in a food processor and pulse until roughly chopped.

Add olive oil, vinegar and salt and process once more until desired texture is achieved.

Next, pour red pepper mixture into a saucepan and simmer on medium-low, stirring frequently, until a thick puree is formed—about 30 minutes.

Yield: approximately one pint or two cups

Real Balkan Homemade Ajvar Recipe

peppers

lbs eggplant

Tbsp sunflower oil

tsp white vinegar vinegar

salt

hot chili peppers (optional; add

Wash and dry the peppers and eggplant, then grill them over low heat, or broil in the oven, until they blacken and soften around the stem. 

Place the roasted peppers and eggplant on a tray/baking pan and cover it tightly with aluminum foil. Keep them in a warm place for about an hour to let the peppers and eggplant steam. This will make them peel more easily.

Transfer the roasted vegetables to a colander fitted over a bowl or to a strainer basket inside a seafood boil pot, cover, and let them drain overnight.

The next day, peel the peppers and eggplant and remove the seeds and stems.

Grind through a medium plate or cut the cleaned and drained peppers and eggplant into small pieces and place them in a shallow, wide cooking pot oiled with some sunflower oil. Pour the rest of the oil over the vegetables, stir, and let them sit for twenty minutes to absorb some of the oil.

Start heating the vegetable over medium heat, and when it starts to boil, reduce the temperature just enough to allow the ajvar to simmer, stirring constantly, so it doesn&#39;t burn. This can take up to an hour or even longer depending on how well the vegetables are drained. Making a large batch can take up to 3 hours or even longer. The ajvar is ready when all the excess liquid evaporates, and the mass becomes thick and uniform, as shown in the pictures in the post above.

Toward the end of cooking, add vinegar and salt to taste.

Transfer ajvar into a clean, airtight container, let it cool down, and refrigerate for up to a month.

For long-term storage, fill clean (they don&#39;t have to be sterilized) pint or half-pint jars with hot ajvar leaving 1-inch head space. Remove any visible air pockets. Wipe the rims and close with the lids finger-tight. Process the jars in a pressure canner according to the tables in the notes section, letting the pressure canner depressurize on its own.

Store the cooled jars in a dark and cool place and refrigerate after opening. Properly canned ajvar will keep for a year and even longer.

Hi! I have a question about pressure canning the ajvar. In the chart it says 35 min, but isn't that a bit long? Wouldn't it burn? I am using 12 smaller jars in my pressure canner (250ml) and it burned my ajvar :( So then I did 11 psi at 7-10 min and seemed to be good. LMK your thoughts.

Great post. I am looking to make it this coming summer. My wife is Macedonian and I want to surprise her. Thanks for the recipe and the detailed instructions.

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Ajvar Recipe

Ajvar (Roasted Red Pepper Dip)

Real Balkan Homemade Ajvar Recipe

Top 3 ajvar recipe recipes from across the web

The most viewed ajvar recipe recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Ajvar Recipe

Ajvar (Roasted Red Pepper Dip)

Real Balkan Homemade Ajvar Recipe

The most viewed ajvar recipe recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine