Bulgarian cottage lyutenitsa
Ingredients:
10 kg red peppers
3 kg aubergines
3 kg tomatoes
1 kg carrots
800 ml of sunflower oil
1 packet of cumin and black pepper (10 g)
Salt and sugar to taste
Preparation:
Grill, peel and deseed the peppers and aubergines. Cook the carrots in salted water, peeled. Then, grind all vegetables in a meat grinder on medium tip. Set aside. Peel the tomatoes and also press them through the machine.
In a large pot (wider than deep), combine all the vegetables and bring to a boil. Set over medium heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 1 hour. Season with sugar and salt according to taste.
Continue cooking until the sauce thickens (a wooden spatula should draw a path on the bottom of the pan) and the vegetables are well cooked. It takes about 2 hours.
At the end of cooking, season the lyuténitsa with cumin and ground black pepper. Pour the heated sunflower oil over the sauce. Mix well and remove from heat.
As the luyténitsa is still very hot, distribute it in washed and dried jars. Make sure there are no air bubbles in the sauce. Immediately seal the jars with their lids.
Sterilization:
Cover the bottom of a large pot with a cloth. Align tight the jars inside. Fill with water until they are covered with 1 cm. Allow 10 minutes of cooking from the boiling point.
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The lyuténitsa is a traditional sauce of Bulgaria, often eaten as a spread with bread, butter and feta cheese. My grandmother’s recipe was a bit different, but equally brilliant. Check out her recipe here.
