I know about ajvar. I will search through my sources and see if I can find anything.

Carol

anasophia, I also know about ajvar, I love the stuff and buy it at a mediterranean market about an hour from my home.

I'm told that eggplant is unsafe to can, but I canned the roasted red pepper spread from the Ball Blue Book and found it to be very similar, although I thought it was a real pain to roast the red peppers for it.

Carol, if you find an ajvar recipe to can, I'd love it, I've looked for one for a couple of years, since finding out about Trader Joe's eggplant and roasted red pepper spread, which is basically ajvar as far as I can see.

I love, love, love the stuff!

Annie

I'm not having any luck, partly because of the eggplant and partly due to the olive oil. I did find some preserving instructions but most give me nightmares. (One called for sealing in jars and then covering with a warm blanket. That would be a nice cozy botulism environment.)

I also thought of that roasted red pepper spread. It can be eaten as-is or used as a "base" with eggplant added before serving.

I think this is one of those things best frozen. I'm not giving up. I may still run across something.

That Trader Joe's mixture is ajvar. I don't know why they don't call it that.

Carol

Annie -

why not roast the red peppers on the bbq?

Well, Holly, I don't grill or it would be a good idea, I think. LOL I don't even have a grill, although my husband does. He lives 3 hours away and will continue to live there until he retires in another couple of years, it's the way life is when you have jobs here in Michigan, you keep them.

I did roast them in my broiler but I have one of those ovens with the broilers on the bottom, next to the floor, so I have to lie on my stomach on the floor to turn the peppers under the broiler. I did that, put them in a paper bag as instructed and left them to steam, then when I picked up the bag the soggy paper gave way and the bottom fell out of the bag.

It was most assuredly a pain, but some others may think it's worth it. I've never had the inclination to make another batch. (grin)

Annie

Nothing new in this strategy but I line the pan with foil and when the peppers are roasted draw the foil up into a packet. No bottom dropping out, for sure!

Also, it's no longer recommended to use brown paper bags in food preparation. Most bags now are recycled paper and the paper can contain harmful residual chemicals, even miniscule fragments of metal.

Carol

Wow Annie - that's a pantload!

I just did a big box of red peppers on the bbq outside tonight, and just put them all on a platter to sit on the kitchen counter to cool for a bit. Didn't bother with the paper bag thing and the skins came off without a hitch. Now to figure out what to do with them all!

Maybe when hubby has some vacation time, he can build you a fire pit.

Holly, I'm hoping that when we each sell our respective homes and build one on the farm, so that we are actually living together, we'll have a grill AND a wood fired outdoor oven.

Hey, a girl can hope, can't she?

Of course, I'm 54 and Elery is 57, I keep telling people that we can stay married forever as long as we don't have to live together! Since he has 33 years seniority with his employer and I have 31 years with mine, neither of us want to compromise retirement benefits, so we live apart and travel back and forth on the weekend.

Carol, the foil idea sounds like a much better idea than that paper bag, which was a fiasco! Thanks for the info on the paper bags, it's the only thing I've every used them for in the realm of cooking and it didn't work. I forget who told me to do that, but I think they sure never tried it!
Annie

I always use foil when I roast peppers and it's a piece of cake with no clean up.

Well - this thread made me want to try ajvar - sounds absolutely delicious! I am making tonight with homegrown eggplant, and peppers from the farmers market - can't wait. We will have it with home made french bread.

I know it is not a recipe for canning, but I'm posting the recipe I found on the net, and will use tonight - just in case this thread made anyone else want to try it.

Ingredients:

2 large eggplants, about 3 pounds
6 large red bell peppers
Salt and black pepper
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup good-quality olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley (optional)
Preparation:

Heat oven to 475 degrees. Place washed eggplants and peppers on a baking sheet with a lip to catch any juices, and roast until their skins blister and turn black, about 30 minutes.

Place roasted vegetables in a heatproof bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let them steam for 10 minutes.

Peel off and discard blackened skins, stems and seeds. In a large bowl, mash or chop vegetables, depending on how smooth or chunky you like your ajvar. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add garlic and lemon juice, and drizzle in oil, stirring constantly.

Transfer to a glass dish and sprinkle with chopped parsley for garnish, if desired. Store covered and refrigerated for up to 1 week.

I made this Thursday night and I also made caponata (that recipe is on another thread here). Both were delicious!!! I love, love, love all the recipes I get from here. Thanks guys!!

I fell in love with a roasted red pepper and mixed vegetable spread made in Bulgaria that a local gourmet market used to carry. Then, they quit selling it, so I concoccted my own version. I just looked at the ingredients on the label and copied it. Exact proportions aren't really necessary, the flavor comes out the same pretty much.

6 to 8 nice, ripe red peppers (or other color if you wish)
1 large onion
1 medium eggplant
2 cloves of garlic
1 large carrot
2 stalks celery
2 large tomatos
salt to taste

I cut up all of the vegetables into quarters roughly, drizzle with just a bit of oil, then roast them all in a hot oven until cooked soft and a bit blackened. Then, the whole thing goes into the food processor. I usually find it not necessary to add any additional liquid in order to process, and, if it's too thin and watery, I actually cook it down a bit over very low heat.

I have NOT canned this, and wouldn't even recommend trying. However, it FREEZES great, although it does seperate and get a bit watery when it thaws, but stirring it makes it go back together.

I've also used this as a soup base by adding some stock to the pureed mixture, then adding a bit of cream or sour cream at serving time.

Finally, it also tastes good with various herbs added if you like, such as basil and oregano. A bit of lemon juice and zest is a nice addition as well.