Ajvar, Red Pepper Dip

You'll find Ajvar in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, the northern mountainous region of Italy. It's made with charred red peppers, eggplant and garlic and has a good sweet and smoky flavour. Serve it with cured meats, cheese or sausages.

The cuisine in Friuli-Venezia Giulia is heavily influenced by the neighbouring countries Austria, Slovenia and Croatia.

Ajvar is a good condiment that originates in the Balkans but is seen all over the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region in Italy.

Charred peppers are blitzed together with eggplant, garlic and white wine vinegar so it's the solid mix of smoky, sweet and savoury.

See the full recipe below including notes on ingredients and recipe tips. If you'd like to explore more recipes from Friuli-Venezia Giulia you might like to try Frico or our Scallops Gratin.

Ingredient notes and substitutions

• Peppers – pointed peppers also known as Romano peppers are traditionally used for this recipe. We also find the skins come off these peppers a lot easier than regular bell peppers.
• Eggplant (aubergine) – use 1 large eggplant or 2 small ones. Look for plump ones without any bruising.
• Sunflower oil – if you don't have sunflower oil you can use another flavourless oil.
• Sugar and white wine vinegar – We recommend following the amounts in our recipe then adjusting the measurements to taste.

Visual walk-through of the recipe

1. Roast the eggplant – cut the eggplant (aubergine) in half and score the flesh. Drizzle with olive oil and put it back together again. Wrap in foil and roast for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes (photos 1-4).

1. Char the peppers – the char the peppers and remove the skins, place them directly over a naked flame on a stovetop. Use tongs to turn them every so often until soft and blackened (photo 5).
2. Place the peppers in a deep dish and cover it with plastic wrap. Let them sit for about 30 minutes to 1 hour until cooled (photo 6).

1. Remove the skins – peel all the charred skin from the peppers. Use a damp piece of kitchen paper to wipe as much of the blacked charred skin off as you can (photo 7).
2. Blitz – put the peppers, cooked eggplant flesh, garlic, sugar and white wine vinegar in a food processor and blitz until smooth (photos 8 and 9).

1. Cook the Ajvar – put the oil in a frying pan and heat until hot. Add the Ajvar and stir it to combine. Simmer the Ajvar for 5 minutes to intensify the flavour then turn off the heat and leave to cool. Serve as a sauce, dip or condiment (photos 10-12).

Ways to use Ajvar

Here are three good ways to use Ajvar.

1. Serve Ajvar as a condiment alongside grilled meats, chicken, steak or sausages.
2. Serve as a spread or dip with crostini, cured meats and cheese with other nibbles. See our antipasti category for ideas!
3. Spread it on sandwiches and top with your favourite fillings such as grilled veggies and cheese.

Recipe Tips

• Get extra smoky flavour – traditionally the eggplant is also charred over a flame. You can choose to do this instead of roasting which will give the Ajvar a more intense smoky flavour.
• Moisture in eggplant – If there seems to be a lot of excess moisture after roasting your eggplant (aubergine) you can squeeze this out before blitzing. Put the flesh in a sieve and squeeze out the moisture.
• Pointed peppers vs bell peppers – you can use bell peppers instead of pointed peppers if that's all you have but the skin is a little more difficult to remove so they will take longer to char.
• Consistency – you can adjust the consistency of the Ajvar by adding more oil. If you'd like it thicker cook it down more to reduce it.

How long does it last?

Ajvar will keep well in the fridge for up to 3 days and can be eaten warm or at room temperature.

More dips and pestos to try

Dips & Pestos

Pistachio Pesto (Pesto di Pistacchi)

Sauces & Dressings

Italian Salsa Verde (Green Sauce)

Dips & Pestos

Artichoke Pesto (Quick 5 minute Recipe)

Antipasti

Whipped Ricotta Dip with Roasted Tomatoes

Ingredients

Makes 1 cup (270g)

• 4 pointed peppers
• 1 large eggplant or 1.5 medium eggplants ((see notes))
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1.5 tablespoons sunflower oil
• olive oil
• salt

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180℃ (350℉). Cut eggplant (aubergine) in half and score the flesh, drizzle in olive oil then put back together and wrap in foil. Roast in the oven for 1hr to 1 hr 15 minutes.

2. Char the pointed peppers over the naked flame of a hob until the skins are black. Transfer to a tray or bowl and cover with cling film to steam for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

3. Once cooled, remove as much of the black charred skin as you can and remove the tops and seeds. Get the majority off with your hands then wipe the rest with damp kitchen paper.

4. Scoop out the the flesh from the eggplant and put in a food processor. Add the peppers, sugar, garlic clove and pinch of salt. Blitz until smooth.

5. Add the sunflower oil to a small frying pan, once hot add the pepper mixture and stir to combine. Cook the Ajvar for 5-10 minutes on a medium-low heat to intensify the flavour.

6. Let it cool then serve.

Kitchen notes

1. Size of eggplant you don't have a large eggplant we recommend roasting 2 medium ones and using the flesh from 1 and a half of them. The remaining half can be added to other dips, sauces or soups.
2. Moisture in eggplant If there seems to be a lot of excess moisture after roasting your eggplant (aubergine) you can squeeze this out before blitzing. Put the flesh in a sieve and squeeze out the moisture.

3. Pointed peppers vs bell peppers you can use bell peppers instead of pointed peppers if that's all you have but the skin is a little more difficult to remove so they will take longer to char

4. Consistency you can adjust the consistency of the Ajvar by adding more oil. If you'd like it thicker cook it down more to reduce it.
5. Get extra smoky flavour traditionally the eggplant is also charred over a flame. You can choose to do this instead of roasting which will give the Ajvar a more intense smoky flavour.
6. Storage Ajvar will keep well in the fridge for up to 3 days and can be eaten warm or at room temperature.