Ajvar is basically a relish, made from red bell peppers. It is originally from Serbia, but also known in other southeastern countries and the Turkish cuisine. Some recipes add eggplant or chili, but I chose a pretty simple recipe with very few ingredients.
If you have never tried it before, you should now! It tastes great with meat or grilled vegetables – a perfect sauce for your next barbecue.
Homemade Ajvar
What you need:
750g red bell pepper
1 onion
3 garlic cloves
3 tbsp. canola oil
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
cayenne pepper
salt
pepper
What you do:
Preheat the oven to 250°C/480°F and turn on the broiler.
Wash, stem and seed the bell peppers and cut them in half. Place the bell peppers on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil, skin side up. About 15-20cm/6-8in under the broiler element, let them broil until slightly charred, but don’t let them burn (you can see how it is supposed to look in the third picture). Transfer the peppers into an airtight container and let them cool, then peel off the skin. Place the peppers in a food processor, pulse until finely chopped.
Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, add onion and garlic. After about five minutes, carefully add the bell peppers. Reduce the heat to low and let simmer for 1-2 hours.
Add vinegar and spices to taste. Stir well. You can either serve it right away or fill the ajvar into sterilized jars.