Ajvar

Ajvar

What it is

The name comes from the Turkish havyar, caviar — Belgrade restaurants once served Danube sturgeon roe under it, until the fishery faltered in the 1890s and a roasted red pepper salad was offered in its place. The substitute kept the name and has outlived the original by more than a century.

In the kitchen

The peppers must be charred, sweated under a cloth and skinned before they go anywhere near the pan; unskinned ajvar stays stringy forever. Then reduce it slowly in oil until a spoon dragged across the pot leaves a track that holds.

Goes with

Bell pepper Eggplant Garlic Olive oil Feta Lamb Red wine vinegar Walnut

Same species

Ají amarillo Ají panca Aleppo pepper Ancho chilli Bell pepper Byadgi chilli

In season alongside

Cipollini onion Marcona almond Piquillo pepper Albacore Japanese tilefish (amadai) Arbutus berry

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