Recipe: Avjar Red Pepper Spread

Ajvar Roasted Red Pepper Spread.

Avjar is a condiment used through the Balkans made with ground red peppers plus some eggplant to stretch the recipe. Serious Eats did an exhaustive experiment to find the best avjar recipe and we followed their method. The result was good and went great with cevapcici, but it was too mild made with domestic red bell peppers so we added a bit of cayenne for a kick. It turns out you can order Bulgarian avjar on Amazon for a very low price—currently $14 for a 2 kilo can—so we’ll probably do that next time. Makes 2 c.

Ingredients:
2 lb red bell peppers (about 4 large ones)
1 small eggplant (about 3/4 pound)
2 T minced garlic
½ t cayenne, plus more to taste
¼ c olive oil
1 T white vinegar
1 T kosher salt
¼ t ground black pepper

Method: roast peppers on stovetop, under broiler or over a charcoal fire, turning frequently until all sides are black and blistered. Transfer to a paper bag, seal and wait for the peppers to cool. It will then be easy to peel them by hand, removing stem and seeds as you go. Transfer peeled peppers to a food processor. Poke holes all over eggplant with a fork, cut it in half, brush the cut side with olive oil and roast cut side down on a silicon pad or parchment paper in a sheet pan in 450 degree oven for about 35 minutes or until soft and deflated. Cool and scoop as you would an avocado, scraping a spoon against the skin from the inside to extract as much meat as possible.

Transfer eggplant meat to the food processor along with garlic and blend to a paste. Add with all other ingredients to a saucepan and simmer until liquid has evaporated, about 30 minutes over very low heat. Taste and add cayenne, salt and pepper as needed. Serve with grilled meat or maybe on burgers. Leftover ajvar will keep a couple of weeks in the refrigerator, or indefinitely in the freezer.