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Easy Vegetable Spread - Ljutenitsa

Ljutenitsa is the most popular relish in Bulgaria. It makes a wonderful snack when spread over a fresh piece of bread. The relish can also be served as a condiment and compliments beautifully any grilled or cooked meat and vegetables. It is suitable for vegans and vegetarians. This is a sugar and gluten-free recipe.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Course Appetizer, Dip, Relish, Spread
Servings 7 250ml jars

Equipment

  • 1 Canning pot
  • 6-7 250 ml jars with lids

Ingredients
  

  • 2.5 kg eggplants/aubergines
  • 5 kg sweet red pointy peppers
  • 2.5 kg carrots
  • 2.5 ml tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup garlic
  • 1/2 litre oil
  • 50 g salt
  • 50 g black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin

Instructions
 

  • Wash the peppers, eggplants, carrots and tomatoes. Remove the green parts and the seeds from the peppers.
    Chargrill the peppers and the eggplants/aubergines on the barbecue until the vegetables are soft and their skin blistering. 
    To cook peppers and eggplant in the oven: Make a few cuts in the eggplants/aubergines and peppers and sprinkle sea salt inside the cuts. Roast in the oven at 200℃/392°F until the vegetables are soft inside and their skin is blistering. Papers can take up to 20-30 minutes to cook, and eggplants - 30-40 minutes. For larger eggplants, it may even take a little bit longer.
    Transfer the cooked peppers and eggplants/aubergines to a large bowl with a lid straight after cooking. Leave them covered for 15 minutes, then peel their skins.
    Process the peppers and the eggplants/aubergines coarsely with a vegetable grinder or a food processor or chop them finely.
  • Peel the tomatoes and place them in boiling water for 10-15 minutes. Take the blanched tomatoes out of the water with a slotted spoon and puree them with a potato masher. You may want to press the tomato puree through a muslin cloth to remove the seeds.
    Peel the carrots and chop them into smaller pieces. Place the carrots in boiling water and blanch them until soft. This will take approximately 15-20 minutes. Puree the blanched carrots with the potato masher.
    Clean and press the garlic in a garlic press.
  • Transfer all minced and pureed vegetables into a large heat-proof dish. Sprinkle the ground cumin, cracked black pepper and salt to your taste over the vegetables. Heat oil on the hob to the boiling point, then pour it over the vegetables. Stir to combine all ingredients well.
  • Transfer the relish into sterilised jars and tighten the caps. Let it cool completely and keep it in the fridge. Consume the vegetable relish within one month, or process the jars of ljutenitsa to preserve it for longer.

Notes

Keyword ajvar, cooked peppers and aubergine, lutenitsa, pepper and aubergine relish, pepper and eggplant relish, pepper and eggplant spread, relish