Serbia
Photo: Off-shell, CC BY-SA 4.0, croppedAjvar
ајвар
/ǎjʋaːr/EYE-var
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- When
- Snack
- Taste
- SmokySavory
- Made with
- Vegetables
History
Ajvar is a thick red relish of roasted red peppers, sometimes with aubergine, garlic and chilli, cooked slowly in oil until it becomes a smooth or coarse spread. In Serbia and North Macedonia, making ajvar is an autumn ritual: families buy sacks of long red peppers, roast them over fire or on a stove, peel them by hand and stir the mixture for hours in large pots, then fill jars for the winter. The name is thought to come from the Turkish word for caviar, since it was once eaten as a cheap alternative. Ajvar can be mild or hot, and it is spread on bread, served with grilled meat or eaten with white cheese. Homemade Leskovac ajvar has a protected geographical name in Serbia.
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