Zacuscă
A Romanian spread of roasted aubergine and red pepper, cooked down slowly until dark, thick and gently smoky.
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 75 min
- Total
- 105 min
- Serves
- 6
- Difficulty
- Medium
Method
- Roast the whole aubergines and peppers at 220°C for 35 to 40 minutes, turning once, until the skins blister and blacken in patches.
- Seal the hot vegetables in a bowl under a plate for 15 minutes; the trapped steam loosens the skins for you.
- Peel and seed the peppers, scoop the flesh from the aubergines, then let everything drain in a sieve for 10 minutes before chopping roughly with a knife.
- In a wide sauté pan, soften the onions in the oil over medium-low heat for 12 minutes, until tender and pale gold.
- Add the chopped vegetables, tomato purée, bay leaves, salt, sugar and pepper. Cook uncovered for 45 minutes, stirring often.
- The zacuscă is ready when it has darkened, the oil rises to the surface, and a spoon leaves a clean furrow through the mixture.
- Fish out the bay leaves and cool completely; it thickens further and its flavour sharpens as it cools.
Romanians make zacuscă in large batches each autumn and jar it for the winter. Served cold on bread, it keeps for a week in the fridge under a thin film of oil.
