Ajvar sauce

Ajvar, made according to a traditional ajvar recipe, using highest quality ajvarski peppers, eggplant, salt, vinegar and sunflour oil.

A versatile red pepper and aubergine sauce typical of the Balkans. Ajvar goes well with meat kebabs or stirred into a pasta as a sauce. Super simple to make too!

Red peppers and eggplant roasted over a wood fire give this sweet and tangy Serbian sauce a pleasing smokiness.

Cevapi, grilled meat from the Balkans, is delicious served in a flatbread with ajvar, a vibrant red pepper sauce, making for an easy to assemble supper.

This Serbian red pepper and eggplant relish goes great with grilled meat, as a sauce on pasta, or simply slathered on a piece of bread!

In autumn in the Balkans, ajvar (pronounced EYEvar) – a roasted vegetable paste – is produced in vast quantities to use over the winter. Versions vary, some without the eggplant or chilli, some chunkier than others, others reduced to a very thick paste. What is done without fail is to cook it over fire, giving a smoky dimension that lingers. In The Art of Fermentation, Sandor Katz says ajvar can be lacto-fermented, although I’ve never managed to keep it long enough to find out. It might be…

Get the recipe for Ajvar from Food & Wine.

Tender strands of pasta tossed in a smoky, garlicky roasted red pepper sauce! Add salty kalamata olives and nutty parmesan cheese and this incredible meal is ready to serve - in about 20 minutes!

Ajvar is a well-known Balkan side dish that best complements grilled dishes. But this homemade ajvar is also excellent as a standalone spread or dip that you can enjoy with bread or as a vegetable dip!

Green ajvar, zelen ajvar, green peppers spread