Balkan Ajvar Recipe

When I moved away from my family during the pandemic, I felt myself craving the tastes of my home. Not London where I grew up, but the home of my family, where my aunts, uncles and cousins live, thousands of miles away in Macedonia. However, the lack of international travel meant the only way I could get home was through flavour.

In my yearning for familiarity, I started simple with a dip, regularly making the Balkan Ajvar Recipe. As a dish it is beloved. It is often eaten with barbequed meats and in the middle of huge Balkan feasts and is the first dish to run out. And believe me when I say huge; in a Balkan household many celebratory meals leave no inches to spare on the table. Tables are gloriously laid out with feasts rich in flavour, with dishes often overlooked or unknown in comparison to other European cuisines.

In my house it would be an understatement to say that food was an important part of our story. For my family it served a lot of purposes. Food remained with us in times of joy, in times of anger, and in times of sadness. I grew up eating my culture’s cuisine in my time spent living in London. We ate the flavours of our families. It brought us closer to places we missed so deeply, which is why my brain jumped straight to flavour when feeling nostalgic.

Ajvar or Aivar?

Spelt as you can see in a variety of ways, is often also made uniquely dependent on area. One thing to note is that it is not traditionally made in small batches like I do at home but made in huge town-wide quantities. Prime harvesting season in Macedonia is usually in Autumn where towns get together to preserve the gorgeous local Ajvarka peppers, which we unfortunately need to swap out in this recipe for a more store-ready alternative before the produce goes bad. Whole communities get together to help prepare the peppers, handling picking the produce and charring them communally.  

That is why this commonly eaten condiment ends up different and diverse in hundreds of different places throughout the Balkan peninsula. Each variation of Ajvar is brilliant and different. Some places add chilli. Some places take out the aubergine that is the magic of this dish. Some fellow lovers of this Balkan Ajvar may say that my recipe should have left out the aubergine. Unfortunately for them, I love the addition.

Best Ajvar Recipe

But for me though the best version of this Ajvar recipe will always be the one made by my Baba (which is Macedonian for Grandma) in her home, looking at the cherry trees in her garden. Whilst I cannot recreate everything about her Ajvar recipe, like the community aspects, I can recreate her flavours.

Ajvar is Versatile

Ajvar can be added to anything. Mixed into mashed potatoes, as a pasta sauce, an addition to middle eastern shakshuka, or even as a meat coating – it works with it all. In fact my love for this dish sees me regularly eating it by the spoonful. However, it is more traditionally served as a dip for Balkan lamb and beef cevapi kebabs or on top of bread with some Kashkaval cheese (or feta).

Balkan Ajvar Recipe

Serves: 4 Prep Time: 15 mins Cooking Time: 20 mins 20 mins

Rating: 4.6/5

( 9 voted )

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Ingredients

1. 4 Red Bell Peppers (Or 5 Romano peppers)
2. 1 Aubergine/Eggplant (optional)
3. 70-80ml of Olive Oil
4. 2/3 cloves of garlic, crushed up or grated
5. 1.5/2 teaspoons of white vinegar (can be substituted for cider vinegar but I would suggest using 1.5 for this kind)
6. Sea salt and pepper to personal taste

+ optional extras (roasted chilli pepper)

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 240°C or around 220°C in a fan oven. Cover your baking tray with baking paper.
2. As the oven preheats slice your aubergine into large pieces and arrange on the baking tray skin upwards. Then chop the red peppers into halves and arrange them on the baking tray skin up.
3. Place in the oven, checking them every now and then to make sure the contents are charring nicely as we need to get them fully charred.
4. Once blackened, take the aubergine and peppers off your tray or cast-iron skillet, and place them into a large bowl.
5. Cover this bowl with a cloth and set aside for around 10/20 minutes to allow to cool.
6. Once cooled, scoop out the flesh from the aubergine with a large spoon – you don’t need the skin, so it can be thrown away or composted.
7. Peel the charred skin of your peppers, remove the core and the seeds – again, you don’t need these bits, so throw or compost them.
8. Transfer the remaining pepper and eggplant into your food processor or blender and add in your garlic then pulse until roughly combined.
9. After this, add your oil and vinegar to your food processor or blender with the salt and pepper, seasoning it to your liking.
10. Pulse the contents of the food processor until a smooth consistency is achieved.
11. Take the medium-sized saucepan and pour the contents of the food processor inside the pan.
12. Over a low heat, simmer the contents for around half an hour, ensuring that you stir constantly. The sauce should become thicker as it gently simmers.
13. If you think it needs more salt and pepper add a little at this point and stir to combine. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Enjoy!

Cast Iron Skillet alternative for a smokier flavour:

• In place of your oven, begin the recipe by placing a cast iron skillet on the hob on a medium/low heat adding a little bit of oil to your pan.
• Place aubergine and peppers on the skillet and cook for around 20 minutes, allowing each side to blacken, regularly turning with tongs to allow each area to char.
• Follow recipe as above from step 4.

Additional Information

Equipment needed:

• Food processor or Blender
• Baking tray or cast-iron skillet (*see notes at end for alternative recipe)
• Medium-sized saucepan
• Large bowl
• Cloth
• Tongs

https://10minutesrecipe.com