Zacuscă, a vegetarian recipe from Romania

Name: Zacuscă
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 75 min
Total time: 105 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Romania
Ingredients: 1 kg aubergines; 800 g fleshy red peppers; 3 onions, finely chopped; 120 ml sunflower oil; 3 tbsp tomato purée; 2 bay leaves; 1½ tsp salt; 1 tsp sugar; Freshly ground black pepper

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 (gluten free if you follow that diet), it keeps for a week in the fridge under a thin film of oil.

The techniques this recipe uses

Drain and rinse
Canning liquid clouds a sauce and salts it blind: rinse until the water runs clear.
Sweat the aromatics
Medium heat, no browning: the onion should turn translucent and sweet, not toasted.
Reduce
Uncovered, water leaves and flavour concentrates. It is done when the sauce coats the back of a spoon.

Frequently asked questions

Why drain the vegetables before chopping them?

Roasted aubergine and peppers release a lot of juice, and that water simply lengthens the 45 minutes of reduction. Ten minutes in a colander noticeably shortens the cooking and concentrates the flavour.

What is the teaspoon of sugar for?

It balances the acidity of the tomato purée and the peppers without making the spread sweet. One teaspoon to 1.8 kg of vegetables: its job is corrective, and you should not taste it.

How do I know when it is done?

The zacuscă has darkened, the oil rises to the surface and a spoon drawn across the base leaves a clear trail that does not close up. It thickens further as it cools, so stop before it is completely stiff.

Zacuscă

Method

The techniques this recipe uses

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Nutrition per serving

Frequently asked questions

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