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Roasting Red Peppers and Making Ajvar has become a new “end of summer” tradition for me the past, oh, ten years! That is because that is how long Vanja and I have been together, and Ajvar (pronounced “eye-var”) is a deadly delicious ethnic dish from his part of the world: The Balkans. It is so labour intensive, I call it “Red Pepper Caviar”, and interestingly enough, the word “Ajvar”, of Turkish origin, shares its etymology with the Turkish word for caviar. Some Eastern European foods are quite common in the Prairies. Many farmers from the Ukraine settled in the Edmonton area, and their rich cuisine has been a fundamental part of our prairie landscape. Ajvar, however, is quite new to the kitchens of Western Canada, and as the bottled version purchased at the grocer is markedly different than the homemade version, few have experienced the luxury of the rich, velvety burst of this smoky peppery essence distilled to perfection.
At the same time as I make Ajvar, I make roasted red peppers that I freeze for later use in my Roasted Red Pepper Salad. Here, I have made a Roasted Red Pepper Salad with sweet cherry peppers. Please also see the Roasted Red Pepper and Ajvar Making Slide Show under “Prairie Summers”.
I charred them on the grill, then, on the second image below, you can see you easily the skin releases from the pepper flesh once it has been charred. I peeled them all, in this case, leaving the seeds and stem.
Then I make the dressing.
Roasted Red Pepper Salad Dressing: Recipe
- 4-6 large garlic cloves, crushed (for a dressing to cover several roasted pepper slices)
- 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon of salt, crushed into the garlic until it makes a thick paste
- 1/3 to 1/2Â cup of good balsamic vinegar (I use President’s Choice)
- Pour this over the roasted peppers and let them marinate in it for an hour or two.
- Then, drizzle with an excellent, fruity olive oil (I use President’s Choice), about 1/3 to 1/2 cup
- Serve with a meal and some really fresh crusty bread
This will keep in the fridge for a good length of time, but needs to be taken out and warmed to room temperature for the best flavour experience.
Making Ajvar: Recipe
Ingredients:
- 20 roasted, peeled red peppers
- enough extra virgin olive oil to cover the bottom of a heavy pan (1/4 -1/2 cup)
- salt: start with 1 teaspoon and add up to one tablespoon, to taste
- vinegar: start with one tablespoon, and add up to two, to taste
Instructions:
- Grind each piece of roasted pepper in a meat grinder; discard juice
- Cover the bottom of a wide bottomed heavy pan with olive oil; heat to medium
- Add ground peppers; cook until the essence of the fleshy bits is distilled
- When a path is left by a wooden spoon as it trails through the mixture, it is done
- Add enough salt to bring out the flavour of the Ajvar
- Add a tablespoon or two of vinegar, depending upon taste
- Freeze in freezer bags, or pack in 1/2 pint jars when hot, and seal (sterilize the jars, first, and have the lids hot, too); refrigerate
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I have been eyeing this recipe since I tasted these at your house in January and FINALLY got around to making it. The dish was delicious and my family loved it! I will never eat store-bought roasted peppers again. Thanks for posting this, Valerie!
I so appreciate the feedback, Twyla! Isn’t it amazing how incredibly better these are homemade? …like a completely different food! And, because they freeze so well in zip lock bags, making a huge batch at one time just makes sense.