Zacusca Recipes

ROASTED EGGPLANT AND PEPPER SPREAD

Steps:

• Grill Eggplants: To grill the eggplants, make sure to poke holes in them with a knife, so they don't explode! Grill them until soft and charred. They will take a good 30-45 minutes to get a nice char on them. Transfer them to a bowl and let them cool completely. Remove the peel, using a knife - if you've cooked them enough, the peel should come off easily. Try and get them as clean as possible with no char bits on them. Place them in a colander over a bowl and let them drain for a few minutes.
• Grill the Peppers: Grill the peppers, or roast them in the oven until they are almost completely charred. Let them cool completely. There are a couple ways to remove the peel. You can either peel them under running water or place them in a bowl with about a tbsp of salt. Cover them with a lid and let them rest for about 20 minutes. After 20 minutes the peel should come off quite easily. Peel them and remove all the seeds from them. Also place the peppers in a colander over a bowl and let them drain for a few minutes.
• Chop: The next step you can do in small batches, depends how big your food processor is! Place some eggplant into the food processor and pulse a few times until the eggplant is finely chopped, but do not pulse it too much, you don't want it to look like a paste. Repeat the same with the peppers.
• Cook Onions: In a very large pot heat the oil and add the onions. Cook the onions until soft, make sure not to burn them. They should just start to change color.
• Add Ingredients & Cook: Carefully add the eggplant and peppers and stir using a wooden spoon. Next, add tomato sauce, then add the salt, black pepper and bay leaves. This will require 3 hours of cooking over low to medium heat, stirring occasionally (I stirred every 10 minutes, just so that it doesn't stick to the bottom).
• Prep The Jars: Wash the jars with soap in scalding water. Put jars in a water-bath canner or on a rack set in a deep pot and cover with hot water.Bring water to a boil and boil jars, covered, 15 minutes from time steam emerges from pot. Turn off the heat and let them stand in hot water.
• Place Jars in Oven: Just before the spread is ready to be canned, place the jars (lids off) in the oven at 350F degrees for 10 minutes.
• Fill The Jars: Take them out and carefully fill the jars with zacusca, leaving about an inch left from the top. Place the lid onto the rim and, using one finger to hold the lid securely, twist on the screw band until it's tight.
• Finish And Let The Jars Cool: Once this is done with all the jars, place them back in the oven and continue baking for another 15 minutes; after which you can turn off the oven, and let them cool in there for a few hours.

ZACUSCA RECIPE - ROMANIAN ROASTED EGGPLANT AND RED PEPPER SPREAD

Steps:

• Poke the eggplant flesh in several places with a knife (this allows steam to escape when cooking).
• Remove the stems from the peppers and core them. Slice them in half lengthwise.
• FOR GRILLING: Heat the grill to medium heat and lightly oil the grates. Set the eggplant and red peppers (skin sides uonto the grates and close the lid. Grill 20 minutes, or until the red pepper skins bubble up and char. Remove them. Continue to grill the eggplant, flipping every few minutes to get an even char on the skins and the flesh is softened up, another 20 minutes or so. Remove from heat.
• FOR BAKING: Set the eggplant and red peppers onto a large foil-lined baking sheet.
• Heat oven to 400 degrees and bake the egglplant and peppers for 20 minutes, until the pepper skins char and bubble up. Remove the peppers and flip the eggplants. Continue to roast until the eggplants soften and blacken, another 20-25 minutes. Remove from heat.
• When the peppers and eggplant are done, remove the pepper skins and discard them. Set them aside for now, covered.
• Scoop out the eggplant flesh and discard the skins. Place the eggplant flesh into a strainer and sprinkle with salt. Let the liquids drain out for 1 hour.
• Add the drained eggplant and chili peppers to a blender or food processor and process until chunky.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large pan and add the onion and jalapeno peppers (and/or serrano peppers, if you're using them). Cook for 5 minutes, stirring, until everything softens up.
• Add the processed eggplant and red peppers, fresh or canned tomatoes, sunflower oil, honey (if using), and salt and pepper. Bring to a quick boil, then reduce the heat. Simmer for at least 30 minutes, or until everything breaks down and combines into a thicker spread to your preferred thickness. I like to simmer 60-90 minutes to develop more flavor. If it dries out too much, add in a few tablespoons of water.
• Remove the bay leaf and adjust for salt and pepper.

TRADITIONAL ZACUSCA (100 YEAR OLD RECIPE)

Steps:

• Wrap your oven racks or trays with aluminium foil. Preheat the oven to 450F / 220C. Poke a few holes in the eggplants and peppers. Basically this will allow the steam to escape, during roasting. Place the peppers and the eggplants on top of the aluminium foil and roast them in the centre of the oven. Set the timer for 20 minutes. One side of the pepper should be quite blackened. Turn the peppers around and place them back in the oven for another 20 minutes. Take the peppers out of the oven and set aside on a plate. Now turn the eggplants over and roast them for another 25-30 minutes. Remove the eggplants from the oven and set aside to cool.
• When all roasted vegetables are room temperature and you can handle them with your bare hands, it's time to "cut" them. First, decore the peppers and discard the seeds. Place the flesh on a wooden chopping board and using a flat wooden spoon "chop" the peppers until you get a rough paste. This is a traditional Romanian method of "chopping". Of course, you can use a food processor if you prefer. I like to do it the traditional way as this is how zacusca was done back in the days. In Romania, we use a special kitchen device called "eggplant wooden chopper" for this. Imagine a sort of small wooden axe, or like a wooden chef's knife used to hit the flesh repeatedly until you get the desired level of vegetable paste.
• Carefully slice the eggplant in half. Using a wooden spoon, scoop out the eggplant flesh and discard the skins. Engaging in the same methodology as before, using a wooden spoon, chop the eggplant flesh until you get a rough paste. The smoother, the better. Again, this is a traditional Romanian way of making zacusca. If you prefer, you can use your food processor to create a smooth paste.
• Heat up a drizzle of oil in a large and deep frying pan. Add the chopped onion and fry for about 3-5 minutes until translucent and soft. Add the chopped eggplant and peppers, the tomato sauce, the vegetable oil, salt, pepper, bay leaf and sugar. Mix well until everything is fully combined. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 90 minutes stirring occasionally. Check on the zacusca on a regular basis to ensure it doesn't stick to the pan. I simmer it uncovered so my zacusca reduces and becomes a delicious paste. If at any point during the cooking process you feel that your zacusca is drying out too much, simply add a few tablespoons of water to it and continue to simmer.
• When the 90 minutes are almost up, remove the bay leaves and taste the zacusca. Adjust the seasoning if needed and let it simmer for another 5 - 10 minutes. To store zacusca you can use an air-tight container and refrigerate. If you want to store zacusca de traditional way, you must sterilise empty jars and store your zacusca in them. Traditionally zacusca is then sealed in the jars and stored in a cold room for up to one year. We usually buy local eggplants to make zacusca and we make it in September.

ROMANIAN ZACUSCA

Steps:

• Over an open flame (gas stove or grill) completely blacken the skins of the eggplants and peppers.
• Peel skins off immediately. Easiest way to get the last bits off is to do it under a slow running faucet.
• Puree each of the three vegetables separately in a food processor. And place each in a separate bowl when you are finished.
• Place oil and onion in a large pot.
• Saute onions for about 4 minutes over medium-low heat.
• Add eggplant, onion, salt and pepper.
• Cook until a thin layer of oil remains on top and when a spoonful of zacusca is removed, only the oil should run off the spoon, not the zacusca.
• Taste and adjust salt and pepper to meet your tastes.
• Spoon mixture into sterilized jars of your choosing. It is easiest if they are all the same size.
• Wipe rims clean and place clean lids and rings on jars.
• Place into a single layer in large pot (water bath canner if you have one).
• Fill pot with water up to the necks of the jars. Bring to a boil and boil for 20 minutes.
• Remove from heat and allow to cool in water bath.
• When cool remove from water and you are ready to go. If oil separates just mix it back in when ready to serve.
• NOTE: My original Romanian recipe calls for a full Liter of oil but results in a much heavier and oilier zacusca. I cut mine back substantially from the original.