Vegan MoFo: Ajvar

I won't lie to you. I've been making quite a bit ahead of schedule, and keeping it to post simply because of nights like tonight. Because life gets in the way of cooking - like a late night at work, such as tonight, with the I-can't-be-assed-it's been-a-long-day feeling. When you can't be bothered eating a proper meal, so it ends up being dip and crackers. So tonight's post is quite a good one, because it's something to be made and bottled, and poured over some vegies and rice, or pasta when all you can do is open a jar,  Chicken Tonight ain't an option because you're a vego, and tinned tomatoes won't do.

A few months back the Beloved and I were in our local greengrocer when we stumbled upon a jar of ajvar. It wasn’t local (Croatian import) but we had never tried it and it looked delicious. We decided we would try it on pizza instead of tomato paste – oh boy, I think it was the best pizza we ever had! It was pretty pricey though, over $10.00 for a 350ml jar. So, I decided I needed to make it ourselves in summer, when we could roast our own capsicums. However, dreaming of possibly swimming in vats of the stuff, and finding the remains of a big-ass jar of roasted capsicums lurking in the outside fridge (can’t even remember what it was bought for) I decided I would make a cheats ajvar and see how it went before using our own precious produce.

Well…it was pretty darn good! Not having a recipe, and going by the ingredients list on the back of the last jar, I winged it. Sweet and savoury, a little smoky, tangy from the vinegar, I think I got it right. Had some on some crackers with some vegan cream cheese, and was planning n keeping some for a pizza night...but it may just be with pasta tonight :)

Ingredients

400gr roasted capsicums

1 clove roasted garlic

1 large tablespoon mixed herbs

¼ cup vinegar

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

Pinch salt

Method

Blend ingredients in a blender, and pour into a saucepan. Bring to a simmer, and allow to reduce to a thick sauce/paste. Cool, and put into a jar. It should keep for a couple of weeks with a little oil on the top to stop the air getting to it, but I doubt you’ll worry, it won’t last that long!