Zacuscă de ghebe, Romanian honey mushroom spread

Name: Zacuscă de ghebe, Romanian honey mushroom spread
Ingredients: 2 kg fresh honey mushrooms (about 1.2 kg boiled and drained); 3000 ml water; 1 tablespoon salt (for boiling); 400 g peeled carrot; 500 g peeled red onion; 1 kg cleaned red bell pepper; 500 ml oil; 2 teaspoons salt; 800 g tomato paste; 1 teaspoon peppercorns; 3 bay leaves

Conserve - Zacuscă de ghebe, Romanian honey mushroom spread by Clara G. - Recipia

Zacuscă de ghebe, a Romanian honey mushroom spread, simmers until thick, with the oil gathering on the surface. The honey mushrooms are mixed with red onion, carrot, red pepper and tomato paste for a thick spread with little pieces of mushroom. I chop the mushrooms finely, but not until they turn to paste. Prep: 60 minutes. Cook: 175 minutes. Rest: 12 hours. Total time: 15 hours and 55 minutes. Serves: 22. About 265 kcal and 4 g protein per serving.

Ingredients

2 kg fresh honey mushrooms (about 1.2 kg boiled and drained)
3000 ml water
1 tablespoon salt (for boiling)
400 g peeled carrot
500 g peeled red onion
1 kg cleaned red bell pepper
500 ml oil
2 teaspoons salt
800 g tomato paste
1 teaspoon peppercorns
3 bay leaves

Preparation

1. Clean and wash the honey mushrooms. Boil them in 3000 ml water with 1 tablespoon salt for 20 minutes, until soft. Drain well and discard the water. 2. Run the carrot and pepper through a meat grinder using the fine plate. Finely chop the onion. 3. Heat 500 ml oil in a heavy-bottomed pot. Add the onion and cook over low heat for 30 minutes, until soft and translucent. 4. Add the carrot and pepper to the pot. Cook for another 30 minutes over low heat, until the vegetables are soft. 5. Cut the boiled mushrooms into small pieces and add them to the pot with 2 teaspoons salt. Simmer over low heat for 60 minutes, stirring from time to time. 6. Stir in 800 g tomato paste and cook for another 30 minutes, until the oil rises to the surface. 7. Add the peppercorns and bay leaves. Simmer for 5 more minutes, then remove the bay leaves. 8. Spoon the hot zacuscă into jars, seal them with lids and cover them with a blanket. Leave them to cool until the next day, about 12 hours.

Notes

I spread it thickly on lightly toasted homemade bread. For a good texture, I choose young honey mushrooms with firm caps; large, fibrous ones are more noticeable in the spread. Fleshy peppers release less liquid than thin-walled ones, which affects how quickly the mixture thickens. Tomato paste can contain salt, so taste before adding more salt at the end of cooking. As a dish, it reminds me of eggplant salad spread on bread, but here you still get little pieces of mushroom. Once cool, keep the jars in the fridge and eat the zacuscă within 3 days at most; filling the jars while hot and cooling them under a blanket are not enough to make them safe for pantry storage without pressure canning.