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VEGAN FEAST SUBSCRIBERS' COOKING AND RECIPE FORUM>
Avjar ?
Dori
402 posts
Sep 03, 2006
9:33 PM
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Hi, Bryanna hope you are having a great weekend. I just made the avjar (roasted red pepper and egglant salsa) - Love It!! I remember that last year you used it on a grilled feta cheese sandwich. What other ways might this be used / serving suggestions? Have you ever canned this before. With the vinegar and lemon juice acidity it appears that this would be able to be a hot water bath recipe - any idea?
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"To cook is to create. And to create well...is an act of integrity, and faith." - author unknown
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Bryanna
Owner/Moderator
1767 posts
Sep 04, 2006
8:35 AM
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I'm glad you liked it, Dori! (It's in the oct/Nov 04 vegan Feast, in case anyone's interested, and it's a delicious Balkan [originally from Macedonia, Croatia. and Serbia, popular also in Albania, Greece, Bulgaria, Hungary, Turkey, etc., and all over the Middle East now, it seems] roasted red pepper and eggplant or zucchini spread. Also sometimes called "vegetable caviar", it can be mild or hot. In some areas they use roasted green peppers.)
Many Balkan families can their own supplies of it every year, but I can't find anything specific about canning it, I read that green beans and unripe tomatoes are sometimes mixed in with the ajvar before canning. All the canning sites I consulted warn against canning any pureed vegetables because of the problem of getting the temperature up high enough in the center of a jar of pureed food without commercial equipment. Perhaps if you made it very chunky you could pressure can it in small jars and then puree it after opening.
Commercial versions are inexpensive in Middle Eastern stores; Trader Joe's sells it but they don't put ajvar on the label. They call it Trader Joe's Red Pepper Spread with eggplant and garlic. Whole Foods sells it [organic] with ajvar on the label [http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/products/afa/redpepperspread.html].) There are urls where you can purchase online below.
I use it on all kinds of wraps and sandwiches, or as a cracker spread or a dip. In You can use it with rice, or as a quick pasta sauce; or use it in hummous and other dips. It's used on grilled meats, so why not on grilled seitan or tofu? Or on some of those big Yves or Tofurkey veggie sausages? Or with white beans, veggie "meatloaf", or 'cheese' toast, or bruschetta? I think Debbie used it with tofu fritatta and it would be good on scrambled tofu, too. I use it in my "cheddar cheese" recipe for color.
amazon.com carries various brands of ajvar:
http://amazon.com/s/ref=br_ss_hs/104-4235371-8350357?platform=gurupa&url=index%3Dgourmet-index%26platform%3Dgurupa&keywords=ajvar&Go.x=4&Go.y=13
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"To look like a goddess, eat like a peasant." Karen Andres
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Dori
404 posts
Sep 04, 2006
8:58 AM
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Thanks Bryanna. I saw that you were moving mom this weekend. Hope all went well and you have an opportunity to get some rest. I cannot comment on your blog since I went beta blogger.
"To cook is to create. And to create well...is an act of integrity, and faith." - author unknown
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Bryanna
Owner/Moderator
1768 posts
Sep 04, 2006
10:17 AM
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Why is that?
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"To look like a goddess, eat like a peasant." Karen Andres
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Dori
407 posts
Sep 16, 2006
9:36 PM
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I think we have taled about the blog thing, but I wanted to come back and let you know that I did can the avjar in my pressure cooker. I let it process for 1 hout 15 minutes at 10 lbs pressure. (Ground raw meat processes at this time and pressure.... I think a little seasoned red pepper and eggplant will get to temperature at that time. The consistency was still thick, meaning it didn't break down in the end.
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"To cook is to create. And to create well...is an act of integrity, and faith." - author unknown
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Bryanna
Owner/Moderator
1789 posts
Sep 17, 2006
5:56 AM
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That's great, Dori! let me know how it tastes!
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"To look like a goddess, eat like a peasant." Karen Andres
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