Ajvar Recipe (Sweet and Creamy Roasted Pepper and Eggplant Relish from the Balkans)
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Look no further than our ajvar recipe to add a delightfully rich and sweet spread or side dish to your next dinner party, and take everyone’s palate on a sun-kissed adventure through the fields and villages of Southeast Europe.
Ajvar Recipe
Few spreads, relishes, or side dishes can match ajvar when it comes to delivering bold yet sweet flavors rushing through such a creamy and sumptuously soft texture.
Whether you spread it on a piece of grilled pork or a slice of crusty white bread, ajvar can wow your dinner or party guests with its sweetness and smoothness, giving them a glorious taste of the Mediterranean and Balkans regions of Europe.
What is Ajvar?
Put simply, ajvar is a spread or relish made primarily from cooked bell peppers, with the addition of other ingredients and seasonings.
With its name deriving from the Turkish and Persian words for ‘caviar’, ajvar as we know it today become popular in Yugoslavia, and particularly Belgrade, throughout the 1900s as a red pepper salad substitute for caviar, due to its waning production.
While found throughout the Balkans and the Mediterranean in various forms, some sweeter and some hotter, ajvar is especially prominent in both Serbian cuisine and North Macedonian cuisine.
Recipe Ingredients
To make our ajvar recipe, you’ll first need the following ingredients:
- Bell Peppers – 6 red bell peppers
- Eggplant – 1
- Garlic – 3 cloves, minced
- Sunflower Oil (or a neutral-tasting oil) – 2 tbsp or 30ml
- Extra-Virgin Olive Oil – 3 tbsp or 45ml
- White Wine Vinegar – 1 tbsp
- Salt – 1 tsp
- Black Pepper – 1/2 tsp
- Sugar – 1 tbsp
- Chili Flakes (optional) – 1/2 tsp
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1 – Preheat the oven to 200°C (390° F).
Step 2 – Cut the peppers in half and clean the seeds out. Cut the eggplant in half. Place the vegetables on a baking sheet facing down, and top them all with 1 tbsp of sunflower oil.
Step 3 – Place the tray in the oven for about 40 minutes. Both your peppers and eggplant should have a charred skin, as shown below:
Step 4 – Place both the peppers and eggplant in a colander to drain and cool for about 5 minutes and then peel the peppers and scoop the flesh of the eggplant.
Step 6 – Chop them up finely with a knife or a food processor. We opted to place them in a food processor and blend them.
Step 7 – In a small pot, over low heat, add 1 tbsp sunflower oil and add the bell peppers, eggplant, and garlic. Cook over low heat until the liquid evaporates (about 30 minutes).
Step 8 – Add salt, sugar, black pepper, vinegar, and chili flakes (optional) and cook for an additional 10 minutes over low heat.
Step 9 – Add the olive oil and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes.
Check that you have the creamy consistency of the ajvar by running a spoon through the middle and seeing if the ajvar stays parted like that.
What to Serve with Ajvar
If your ajvar stays parted, it’s ready to serve! Scoop it into a bowl or on a plate, and let your dinner guests enjoy it on a range of meats, breads, and roasted vegetables.
Garnish – We topped our ajvar with a few sprigs of parsley, both for presentation and flavor.
Fresh Bread – As with pretty much any spread, bread is a given. Try both soft and grilled bread.
Salami and Cooked Meats – The sweetness of ajvar balances the richness and smokiness of salami, chorizo, and other cooked meats really well.
Wrap/Sandwich Filling – Not necessarily traditional, but you can use ajvar as a base spread for sandwiches and wraps, then fill them with meats and vegetables.
Avjar is sweet, slightly tart, and rich, while its roaring red color will draw eyes and spoons like moths to a flame. It’s a wonderful side dish that’s simple to prepare yet loaded with flavor.
We really hope you enjoy this Serbian, North Macedonian, and Balkans favorite. It’s a perfect relish for your grilled meat, roasted vegetables, or freshly cooked bread on a hot summer’s day, sat out on the patio with a glass of ice-cold rosé.
Ajvar Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 6 red bell peppers
- 1 eggplant/aubergine
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tbsp 30ml sunflower oil (or a neutral-tasting oil)
- 3 tbsp 45ml extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp chili flakes optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (390° F).
- Cut the peppers in half and clean the seeds out. Cut the eggplant in half. Place the vegetables on a baking sheet facing down, and top them all with 1 tbsp of sunflower oil.
- Place the tray in the oven for about 40 minutes. Both your peppers and eggplant should have charred skin.
- Place both the peppers and eggplant in a colander to drain and cool for about 5 minutes and then peel the peppers and scoop the flesh of the eggplant.
- Chop them up finely with a knife or a food processor. We opted to place them in a food processor and blend them.
- In a small pot, over low heat, add 1 tbsp sunflower oil and add the bell peppers, eggplant, and garlic. Cook over low heat until the liquid evaporates (about 30 minutes).
- Add salt, sugar, black pepper, vinegar, and chili flakes (optional) and cook for an additional 10 minutes over low heat.
- Add the olive oil and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes.
- Check that you have the creamy consistency of the ajvar by running a spoon through the middle and seeing if the ajvar stays parted. If your ajvar stays parted, it’s ready to serve! Scoop it into a bowl or on a plate, and let your dinner guests enjoy it on a range of meats, breads, and roasted vegetables. We topped our ajvar with a few sprigs of parsley, both for presentation and flavor.
You Might Also Like to Read
- Creamy Homemade Labneh Recipe for a Taste of the Middle East
- Romanian Eggplant Salad Recipe (Salata de Vinete)
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Contributor: Efimia is a passionate home cook and teacher, highly knowledgable of Eastern European and Balkans cuisine, who has been bringing smiles to family and friends with her humble and joyous home cooking for over forty years and counting.
