Zacuscă de gogoșari

Name: Zacuscă de gogoșari
Ingredients: 1 kg gogoșari peppers; 1 kg bell peppers; 3 medium carrots (300 g); 2 large onions (300 g); 175 ml oil; 500 ml tomato passata; 6 garlic cloves; 1 teaspoon salt; 2 tablespoons sugar

Conserve - Zacuscă de gogoșari by Mioara J. - Recipia

Zacuscă de gogoșari, a Romanian roasted pepper spread, is made with roasted peppers cut into strips with a knife, along with carrot, onion and tomato passata. It simmers until the oil rises to the surface, while the strips stay whole and give the zacuscă a chunkier texture than when it’s ground in a mincer. I learned it from my mother and make it every year because everyone likes it; I choose meaty gogoșari peppers. Preparation: 60 minutes. Cooking: 105 minutes. Resting: 480 minutes. Total time: 645 minutes. Serves: 10. About 260 kcal and 3 g of protein per serving.

Ingredients

1 kg gogoșari peppers
1 kg bell peppers
3 medium carrots (300 g)
2 large onions (300 g)
175 ml oil
500 ml tomato passata
6 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar

Preparation

1. Arrange the bell peppers and gogoșari peppers on a baking tray and roast for 30 minutes at 220°C, until the skins blister and blacken in places. Peel them, remove the stems and seeds, then cut them into long strips with a knife. 2. Peel the carrots and slice them into rounds. Peel the onion and slice it thinly. Heat 175 ml of oil in a pot, add the carrots and onion and sauté for 15 minutes, until softened. 3. Add the tomato passata, pepper strips, peeled garlic sliced into rounds, 1 teaspoon of salt and the sugar. Simmer for 60 minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the oil rises to the surface. 4. Spoon the hot zacuscă into sterilized jars and seal them airtight. Wrap the jars in blankets and leave them to cool slowly for 8 hours, then store them in the pantry.

Notes

Choose meaty gogoșari peppers without any soft spots; thinner ones roast faster and may come out of the oven before the others. If the vegetables release a lot of liquid, cooking may take longer, until the watery liquid beneath the oil disappears. Serve cold, on toast or alongside mashed beans. Store the cooled jars in the pantry, and keep an opened jar in the fridge for no more than 3 days. Small jars reach room temperature faster than large ones, so check that each one has cooled before moving them.