Serbian Red Pepper and Aubergine Dip - Ajvar
Ajvar has an interesting story. It gets its name from the turkish word for caviar, but it comes from Serbia. Many homes had the tradition of making their own caviar but when they started banning home-made caviar, people created the red pepper ajvar which played ironically with the red colour and substituted it on the table.!
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EmailIngredients:
- 1/2 kg sweet green, red, and/or yellow peppers
- 1 hungarian yellow hot banana pepper (or any other large hot pepper)
- 1 medium eggplant
- 1 garlic clove,crushed with 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- salt
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar or to taste
Procedure:
Preheat oven to 220°C
Place the peppers and eggplant in a baking pan, cover well with foil and roast until soft.
Allow to cool without uncovering and with wet hands remove the skins, seeds and ribs from the peppers.
Mince the flesh finely and in a stainless steel cooking pan, add the garlic, oil, and vinegar, and cook until the mixture is thick, like a fine chutney.
Cool to room temperature, and serve in a glass bowl, drizzled with a little more olive oil. It can also be stored in the refrigerator.
Serve with dark bread, such as party pumpernickel or party rye, and cream cheese.
