Ajvar (Serbian Red Pepper Sauce)

In October 2019, I visited Serbia for the first time. This sauce is very popular and served with many meals.

Serbian Vegan total time2 hrs yields1½ cups addedMay 2020

• 2 pounds red bell peppers (about 5 medium peppers)
• 1 medium eggplant (about ¾ pound)
• 5 cloves freshly minced garlic
• ¼ cup sunflower or olive oil
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt, plus more to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Heat a grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Clean and oil the grilling grate. Place peppers on hot side of grill and cook until blackened all over, 10-15 minutes. Transfer pepper to a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let sit until cool enough to handle, about 20 minutes. Rub the charred skin to remove (do not wash). Remove seeds, and cores from peppers.
2. While the peppers are cooling, pierce skin of eggplant with a fork all over. Place eggplant on cool side of grill. Cover and cook until skin darkens and wrinkles and eggplant is uniformly soft when pressed with tongs, about 30 minutes, turning halfway through for even cooking. Remove eggplant from grill and let sit until cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes. Trim top off eggplant and split lengthwise. Using a spoon, scoop out flesh of eggplant; discard skin.
3. Place roasted red peppers, eggplant pulp, and garlic in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse until roughly chopped. Add in oil, vinegar, and salt and pulse until incorporated and peppers are finely chopped.
4. Transfer sauce to a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper to taste. Let cool to room temperature then use immediately or transfer to an airtight container and store in refrigerator for up to two weeks.