Lyutenitsa

Ingredients

Vegetables

• 3 kgred kapia peppers
• 1 kgripe tomatoes
• 500 gaubergines
• 300 gcarrots, peeled
• 1whole garlic head, cloves peeled

Seasoning

• 200 mlsunflower oil
• 2 tbspsugar
• 2 tbspfine salt
• 1 tbspred wine vinegar
• 1 tspground black pepper
• 1 tspground cumin (optional, eastern style)

Equipment

• Sterilised jars with new lids

Directions

1. Roast the peppers and aubergines directly over a wood fire, a gas flame or under a very hot grill, turning until the skins are black and blistered all over — 15 to 20 minutes. The char is the flavour of the relish.
2. Seal them in a covered pot or a plastic bag for 20 minutes to steam, then peel, stem and deseed the peppers, and scoop the aubergine flesh out of its skin. Do not rinse them; you would wash away the smoke.
3. Boil the carrots until fully tender, 20 minutes, and blanch and peel the tomatoes.
4. Pass the peppers, aubergine and carrot through the coarse plate of a mincer, or pulse briefly in a processor. Lyutenitsa should be a thick, slightly rough purée, never a smooth sauce.
5. Blitz the tomatoes separately and cook them down alone in a wide pan for 30 minutes until reduced by half — this stops the whole relish being watery.
6. Combine everything in the widest heavy pan you have with the oil, sugar, salt and pepper. Cook over low heat, uncovered, for 1.5 to 2 hours.
7. Stir every few minutes with a wooden spoon, scraping the base. It is ready when a spoon drawn across the bottom leaves a clear trail that fills in slowly, and the oil rises and separates on the surface.
8. Stir in the crushed garlic and the vinegar in the last 5 minutes, then jar boiling hot, seal, and turn the jars upside down under a blanket overnight to cool slowly and pull a vacuum.

Technique

• Autumn lyutenitsa-making is a communal event: whole families roast sacks of kapia peppers outdoors on rotating drum roasters and cook the relish in a cauldron over a fire. The smoke from that open roasting is not reproducible indoors, though a gas flame gets close.
• It sticks and burns easily as it thickens. Use the widest pan you own so the water evaporates from surface area rather than from long cooking.
• If any jar shows a bulging lid, a fizz on opening or an off smell, discard it. Properly sealed and hot-filled it keeps a year in a cool cupboard.

Substitutions

• Out of season, use 2 kg of good jarred roasted red peppers, drained, and add 1 tsp smoked paprika to compensate for the missing char.
• Aubergine is optional — the Plovdiv style omits it entirely and uses more peppers and carrot.

Variations

• Ljutenica in the southwest is made hot, with a handful of chillies minced in.
• A chunky style called ‘kyopoolu’ keeps the aubergine dominant and the texture rough.

History

Roasted pepper and tomato relish cooked in bulk each autumn and jarred, then eaten at breakfast with bread and cheese.

Frequently asked questions

What is Lyutenitsa?

Lyutenitsa is a sauce & condiment from Bulgaria: pepper-tomato relish spread thickly on bread. Roasted pepper and tomato relish cooked in bulk each autumn and jarred, then eaten at breakfast with bread and cheese.

How long does Lyutenitsa take to make?

Lyutenitsa takes 50 min of preparation and 2 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 4 jars of 400 ml. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Lyutenitsa?

Yes, within limits. Out of season, use 2 kg of good jarred roasted red peppers, drained, and add 1 tsp smoked paprika to compensate for the missing char. Aubergine is optional — the Plovdiv style omits it entirely and uses more peppers and carrot.

What is the most important thing to get right in Lyutenitsa?

Seal them in a covered pot or a plastic bag for 20 minutes to steam, then peel, stem and deseed the peppers, and scoop the aubergine flesh out of its skin. Do not rinse them; you would wash away the smoke.