Quick and healthy recipes for Serbian roasted peppers and eggplant sauce! Get inspired

Prepare one of these ajvar recipes and then enjoy it as a side dish or as a main course to the other dishes we have prepared for you below!

This sweet and delicate sauce beautifully complements the taste of any well-cooked meat.

But you can also enjoy it as a thick soup in autumn weather.

Serbian ajvar from grilled vegetables

This recipe is especially intended for the summer season, when you fire up your grill in the garden every weekend and enjoy the sun’s rays with good food, such as these recipes for grilled goodies . Red pepper and eggplant grilled on charcoal give this sweet and spicy Serbian sauce a nice hint of smoke.

What will we need

1. 1 kg of red pepper
2. 750 g of eggplant
3. 5 cloves of freshly chopped garlic
4. 60 ml of sunflower or olive oil
5. A spoonful of white vinegar
6. Teaspoon of salt
7. Freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. We light charcoal in the grill
2. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pile the coals on one side of the grill
3. Place the grill grate in place and cover it
4. Let the grill preheat for 5 minutes
5. Then clean and oil the grill grate
6. Place the peppers on the hot side of the grill (where the coals are) and bake for 10-15 minutes until they turn black
7. Transfer them from the grill to a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let sit until cool enough to peel, about 20 minutes
8. Remove the burnt skin, seeds and cores from the peppers
9. While the peppers are cooling, pierce the skin of the eggplant all over with a fork
10. Place the eggplant on the cool side of the grill (where there are no coals)
11. Cover and bake for about 30 minutes, until the skin is darkened and wrinkled and the aubergine is uniformly soft when pressed with tongs
12. Halfway through baking, turn the aubergine so that it roasts evenly
13. Remove the eggplant from the grill and let it sit until it is cool enough to work with
14. Then we cut it and cut it lengthwise
15. Scoop out the flesh of the eggplant with a spoon and discard the skin
16. Place the roasted red pepper, eggplant pulp and garlic in a food processor with a steel blade
17. Blend until the vegetables are coarsely chopped
18. Add oil, vinegar and salt and mix again until everything is mixed together and incorporated into a fine texture
19. Put the sauce in a pan and bring to a boil
20. Then reduce the temperature and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally
21. Remove the ajvar from the heat and season with salt and pepper
22. Allow to cool to room temperature before serving immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two weeks

Ajvar from peppers and eggplants

Ajvar is a Serbian mixture of roasted eggplant and sweet peppers and is sometimes referred to as vegetarian caviar. It is a great accompaniment to meats, especially lamb, for which you can find the recipe with lamb meat below in this article, but you can also enjoy it as a spread, see the TIP section.

What will we need

1. 1.5 kg of eggplants
2. 6 large red peppers
3. Salt
4. Freshly ground black pepper
5. 5 cloves garlic (coarsely chopped)
6. Juice of 1 lemon
7. 125 ml of quality olive oil
8. A spoonful of finely chopped parsley

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees
2. Pierce the eggplant all over with a fork
3. Place the washed eggplants and peppers on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for about 30 minutes until their skin turns black
4. Place the roasted vegetables in a bowl
5. Cover them with plastic wrap and let them steam for 10 minutes
6. Then peel and discard the blackened skins, stems and seeds
7. Mash or chop the vegetables in a large bowl, depending on the consistency of the ajvar
8. Season with salt and pepper
9. Add the garlic and lemon juice and mix in the oil while stirring constantly
10. Put the ajvar in a bowl and sprinkle with chopped parsley to decorate

Canned zucchini ajvar

If you’re not a fan of eggplant, don’t worry, this recipe for Serbian sauce omits eggplant entirely. Enjoy the combination of sweet peppers and zucchini. The icing on the cake of this recipe is that you can preserve it for later consumption.

What will we need

1. 1 kg of zucchini
2. 1 kg of red pepper
3. 1.5 liters of water
4. 50 ml of vinegar
5. Pepper
6. 30 ml of oil
7. Onion (finely chopped)
8. Garlic to taste

Method

1. Wash the zucchini and peppers, clean them and cut them into cubes
2. Start boiling water in a large pot
3. Add vinegar and mix
4. Add pepper and zucchini
5. We cook the vegetables for about 15 minutes
6. Drain and put the cooked vegetables in a food processor
7. Mix the vegetables
8. Return the ajvar to the pot and place the pot back on the stove
9. Add oil, onion, garlic, pepper and salt
10. We cook the mixture for about half an hour
11. In the meantime, heat the canning jars
12. Pour hot ajvar into hot glasses, wipe the neck of the glasses and close with a lid
13. Turn the glasses upside down and let them cool
14. Ajvar preserved in this way will last us up to one year

What is ajvar used for?

Above, we have brought you various recipes for homemade ajvar, come with us and see what we can actually serve it with.

Try one of these sumptuous ajvar recipes and you’ll be amazed at what this great roasted pepper sauce goes well with.

Čevabčiči with homemade ajvar

You will need to start this recipe a day in advance to ensure the mince absorbs all the flavors of the garlic and sweet peppers. It is best to serve meat donuts with sweet eggplant and pepper sauce, sour cream, lemon and toasted bread.

What will we need

1. 300 grams of ground pork
2. 700 grams of ground beef
3. Onion (finely chopped)
4. 3 cloves of garlic (pressed)
5. A teaspoon of baking soda
6. 2 teaspoons of sweet paprika
7. 200 ml of sparkling mineral water
8. Eggs (lightly beaten)
9. 2 tablespoons of olive oil
10. Sour cream
11. Lemon slices
12. Bread
13. Homemade ajvar (choose from the recipes listed above)

Method

1. Mix the pork and beef, onion, garlic, soda, paprika, a teaspoon of salt and pepper in a bowl with your hands
2. We work until everything is well combined
3. Gradually stir in the mineral water and eggs until the mixture has a paste-like consistency
4. Shape the mixture into cones 10 cm long and 2 cm wide
5. Place them on a tray lined with baking paper and cover with cling film and leave in the cold overnight
6. Take the čevabčič out of the fridge 20 minutes before cooking
7. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat
8. Coat the meat donuts with oil
9. Place in the pan and cook for about 10 minutes on each side until browned and cooked through
10. Served with ajvar, sour cream, lemon wedges and bread

Macedonian breakfast with ajvar

A wonderful rustic dish made with baked eggs in a seasoned roasted red pepper sauce. Macedonian Shakshuka is the ideal one-pan breakfast dish that will satisfy even a hungry crowd.

What will we need

1. 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
2. Onion (finely chopped)
3. 2 cloves of garlic (pressed)
4. A teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves
5. A teaspoon of dried thyme
6. 700 g of homemade ajvar (choose from the recipes listed above)
7. Salt
8. Pepper
9. 150 grams of crumbled feta
10. 5 eggs

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees
2. Meanwhile, heat a frying pan over medium-high heat
3. Add oil to the heated pan
4. Add the onion to the hot oil and fry it for 2 minutes until soft
5. Add the garlic and cook for another 20 seconds
6. Add homemade ajvar and mix everything together
7. Season with salt and pepper
8. Stir in 75 g of crumbled feta
9. Cook for 8 minutes, stirring constantly
10. Remove the pan from the stove
11. Taste and season with salt and pepper
12. Make 4 to 5 wells in the sauce with a spoon
13. Add an egg to each well
14. Put the whole mixture in the oven and bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until the eggs are cooked
15. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes
16. Garnish the shakshuka with the remaining feta and parsley

Ajvar soup

A great recipe for cold autumn days that will warm you from the outside and the inside.

What will we need

1. 2 red onions
2. 2 cloves of garlic
3. 800 g of zucchini
4. 4 tablespoons of olive oil
5. Salt
6. Pepper
7. 150 g ajvar (choose from the recipes listed above)
8. 1 ½ l vegetable broth

Method

1. Roughly chop the onion and slice the garlic
2. Wash the zucchini and cut off the ends and cut it into slices
3. Heat the oil in a saucepan
4. Add the onion and sauté it
5. Add the zucchini slices and start frying
6. Season everything with salt and pepper
7. Stir in the ajvar and add the vegetable broth
8. Bring the soup to a boil and cook for about 20 minutes at a moderate temperature
9. Served with toasted bread

Lamb meat with ajvar sauce

However, ajvar tastes best with meat. There is no doubt that this sauce goes best with meat dishes, especially lamb. That’s why you have to try this recipe at home!

What will we need

1. 300 g leg of lamb (cut into cubes)
2. 200 g white beans (canned)
3. 100 g of green beans
4. 20 g of parsley
5. Clove of garlic
6. Zucchini
7. Onion
8. 20 grams of butter
9. Salt
10. Pepper
11. Ajvar ((choose from the recipes listed above)

Method

1. In a large non-stick pan, heat the oil over high heat
2. Add the lamb and cook for about 4 to 5 minutes on each side, until cooked through
3. We take it out of the pan and transfer it to a bowl, which we cover to keep the meat warm
4. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a pan to a high temperature
5. Add the onion and the remaining garlic
6. Cook and stir for about 1 minute
7. Add the beans and cook for another 2 minutes
8. Add zucchini and butter
9. We continue cooking for about 2 minutes, then add ajvar and let everything boil together
10. We serve the lamb with zucchini mixture, garnished with parsley

What is ajvar?

Ajvar is a traditional delicacy of Balkan cuisine . The origin of the name is Turkish and comes from the Ottoman word Havyar, meaning caviar.

It probably got its name because of the paprika it contains. Its texture, after grinding with a meat grinder, was made up of small pieces similar to caviar.

The dispute over the first prepared Ajvar is still open and unresolved between Serbia, North Macedonia and Slovenia.

Ajvar is traditionally prepared at the end of September, during the ripening period of Rogy, which are Serbian sweet red peppers.

Probably the most famous area for Ajvar is around the Serbian town of Leskovac, where the peppers are considered to be particularly good and of high quality. The production of peppers is so vital here that Leskovci are nicknamed Paprikari!

Ajvar is commonly prepared in various degrees of spiciness. The less spicy version is called Slatko, while the hottest one is called Ljuto.

In Leskovac, the delicacy is prepared only with paprika. In several other areas of the Balkans, paprika is mixed with small amounts of eggplant and garlic.

In addition, the main variations of Ajvar are:

LIUTENICA – enriched with fresh tomatoes and parsley.

PINDJUR – in this case eggplants are particularly dominant and mixed with paprika and tomato sauce.

MELITZANO – prepared with green pepper, eggplant and mustard.

The most traditional pairing is with grilled chevabčići and other grilled meat, in this case it is common to use a spicier variant called Ljuto.

A mild variation called Slatko is served simply spread on slices of bread as an appetizer or snack.

Ajvar is also excellent in combination with grilled fish such as trout or carp.