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Ajvar has always been my favourite among all the jar-packed goodies. Ajvar is a type of relish, made principally from red bell peppers. It may also contain aubergine and chilli peppers. Ajvar originates from Serbian/Croatian cuisine and was therefore long known as vegetable caviar. It’s a traditional dish in Balkan cuisine, usually made in mid-autumn and consumed throughout the year.
Ingredients
500 g carrot, grated
1 l tomato passata
200 ml sunflower oil
100 ml white wine vinegar
150 g granulated sugar
50 g salt
3 kg red bell peppers, chopped
15 cloves of garlic, minced
handful freshly cut parsley leaves
10 g food preservative
You will also need
7 x 580ml round twist top Kilner jars
Method
1. Put the carrot and passata in a preserving pan or large, heavy-based, stainless-steel saucepan (about 8 litres big) and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add oil, vinegar, sugar and salt and continue to cook gently for a couple of minutes.
2. Meanwhile, wash and deseed the peppers and place them in a food processor and blitz briefly until chopped but not mushy. Add them to the pan, bring back to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer the mixture gently for about 1 and 1/2 hours.
3. Add garlic and parsley and cook all together for another 30 minutes. Stir continuously towards the end and be careful while doing so, otherwise, the mixture will catch on the base of the pan and burn.
4. A couple of minutes towards the end of cooking, add preservative and mix it all together. Pour the chutney into warm sterilized jars, seal and label. Store in a cool dark place and refrigerate after opening.
Tips
Ajvar is amazing with grilled meat or simply added in a sandwich. The secret of deliciously tangy chutney is time, a long, gentle cooking time, and then time for it to mature before being opened.
ENJOY!
Find my other recipes on my Recipes Page
Did you make this?
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Ajvar po Receptu Moje Mame
Moj prvi ajvar! O, da ste samo mogli videti, moju radost kad sam otvorila prvu teglicu "Pa ovo i miriše i izgleda kao ajvar" I to moram napomenuti, Saša nikada nije volio ajvar (a ja ga obožavam, uvek kad sam u prilici kupim jednu teglicu Podravkinog ajvara i onda baš uživam) sve do neki dan kad sam odlucila 'hajde da i ja to probam napravit'...sad dal' videvši moje veselje ili što je to kod nas već postala obaveza jer on je taj cije mi je misljenje vazno ;) na pitanje hoceš probati? Dodatno me je razveselio, rekavši "da" pa onda - ovo je odlično!!!
Sastojci
500 g mrkve
1 litra dunsta
100 ml sirćeta
200 ml ulja
50 g soli
150 g šećera
3 kg crvene paprike (roge)
15 čenova belog luka
1 velika kašika peršunovog lista
1 vrećica konzervansa
Priprema
1. Pripremiti papriku, oprati i odstraniti semenke te ih iseći na sitne kockice (ja sam ih pulsirala na sekund-dva u food procesoru).
2. Mrkvu oguliti pa izrendati na krupno, staviti u dublji lonac zajedno sa dunstom pa kuvati na srednoj vatri 20 ak minuta, povremeno promesati. Tome dodati sirće, ulje, so i šećer, zatim i pripremljnu papriku.
3. Kuvati na srednjoj vatri oko 1.30 minuta do 2h, često mešajući. Pred kraj dodati sitno iseckan beli luk, peršun i konzervans.
4. Vruć ajvar sipati u vruće, sterilizirane tegle, zatvoriti, pokriti (utopliti) i tako ostaviti do narednog dana da se u potpunosti ohladi. Spremiti na policu uz ostalu zimnicu.
