Serving Suggestions & Recipes
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Almost all of our products are excellent as stand alone snacks, meals, appetizers, and side dishes, but what we gathered here are a collection of recipes that not many people have thought of or tried. Ajvar, lutenica, and malidjano are especially wonderful as used as an appetizer with tortilla chips, flat breads, roasted meats, and vegetables; and also go very well in sandwich wraps of all kinds.
These are some of our very favorite recipes!
• Roasted Cauliflower with Ajvar Dressing
1. 1 head of cauliflower (2 3/4 pounds), core trimmed, head quartered and sliced lengthwise 1/3 inch thick
2. 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3. Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
4. 1 anchovy fillet, coarsely chopped
5. 1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped
6. 3 tablespoons mild or hot ajvar
7. 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
8. 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
9. 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
10. 1 1/2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
1. Preheat the oven to 425°. Heat a large rimmed baking sheet in the oven. In a bowl, toss the cauliflower with 3 tablespoons of the oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread the cauliflower on the hot baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes, tossing halfway through, until tender and browned.
2. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 5 tablespoons of oil in a skillet. When the oil is hot, add the anchovy; cook over moderate heat until it begins to dissolve. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Remove the skillet from the heat; let the oil cool for 5 minutes.
3. In a mini food processor, blend the oil with the ajvar, lemon juice and vinegar. Add the parsley and pulse to combine. Season the dressing with salt and pepper.
4. Transfer the cauliflower to a platter. Drizzle with the dressing and sprinkle with the toasted pine nuts. Serve warm.
• Tofu cutlets with blackened pepper coating
1 block of firm tofu
ajvar red pepper spread
1 to 2 Tbsp oil for the pan
Squeeze the liquid out of the tofu, slice into six cutlets and spread each of them thickly on both sides with ajvar. Allow the cutlets to sit while you prepare potatoes.
Note: this part of the recipe could have been more successful if the time sitting was longer and if I had done more to turn the ajvar into a marinade. Next time I try this recipe, I'll try mixing the ajvar with oil and perhaps a little vinegar to see if it pulls more pepper flavor into the centers of the tofu pieces, which ended up tasting pretty plain this time around, and start marinating at least an hour before starting the potatoes.
When the potatoes are very close to done, heat oil in a large frying pan on high heat. Lay the ajvar-covered cutlets in the oil and fry on both sides until the pepper mixture is blackened.
• Ajvar Deviled Eggs
6 large eggs, hard cooked
3 tablespoons ajvar (hot or mild)
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
kosher salt
Directions:
1. Half eggs, and scoop yolks out to a bowl.
2. Arrange egg white halves on serving platter.
3. Smash yolks REALLY well with a fork.
4. Add ajvar and mayonnaise.
5. Blend well with an electric mixer until fluffy.
6. Season to taste with kosher salt.
7. With a teaspoon, fill egg white halves with ajvar-yolk mixture.
8. Garnish as desired.
• Spicy Muffins with Ajvar
2 eggs
100 ml oil
250 ml milk
6 tablespoons flour
15 tablespoons of corn meal
1 sachet baking powder
200 g feta cheese
100 ml mineral water
2 to 3 tablespoons of ajvar
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Salt
Sesame seeds
Preparation:
Egg whites separate from the egg yolks. Whisk the egg whites. Whisk egg yolks, oil, milk and mineral water separately.
Add baking powder, flour, corn meal, ajvar, chopped parsley, feta cheese and salt to taste and whisk by mixer.
The prepared mixture add egg whites and gently stir.
Pour the prepared mixture into muffin pans and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake in preheated oven at 200 ⁰ C until golden brown.
• Lutenica Pizza Bites
1 Jar Lutenica
1 Loaf French Baguette
Mozzarella Cheese (or subsitute your own)
Oregano
Cut the French baguette into bite size slices, arranging them neatly on a baking sheet.
Dollop some lutenica onto each slice. Then put mozzarella (or your favorite cheese) onto each slice.
Sprinkle oregano over the slices, and bake in an oven on medium heat until the cheese is melted.
For a quick snack, try just making a few pieces and using a toaster oven.
• Ajvar Quesadillas
1 Jar Ajvar (mild or hot, depending on preference)
1 Jar Grilled Zucchini
1 Jar Roasted Eggplant
1 Jar Roasted Red Peppers
1 Jar Malidjano
Provolone Cheese (or substitute your favorite)
Tortillas (recommended whole wheat)
Black Pepper
Basil
Cut the tortilla in half. Spread ajvar on one half and malijano on the other (thickness depends on taste). Arrange the zucchini, eggplant, and red pepper on top of the ajvar and malijano in any way you want. Sprinkle the black pepper and basil on top of that (if you have fresh basil leaves, use them). Place the cheese on top of the vegetables. Finally, put one side of the soon-to-be-quesadilla on top of the other, and cook over a medium heat in a skillet, until both sides are brown and
the cheese is melted. Enjoy!
If you want to add meat, seperately grill some loose hamburger meat and place it on top of the ajvar and malijano before you put the vegetables on.
• Va-Va Spicy Cheesesteak
1 Jar Roasted Red Peppers
1 Jar Grilled Cayenne Peppers
Diced Onion
Salt
Black Pepper
Meat (recommended slicing a rib filet or chicken breast, but you can easily use Minute Steaks in a pinch)
Provolone Cheese (or substitute your favorite)
Dice and grill the onion and peppers together in a pan. Chop up and grill the meat until brown in a
separate skillet, adding some salt and black pepper for taste. Slice the cheese into small bits. When the meat
is cooked to your liking, add in the onion and peppers, mix, and stir for a few seconds, adding the sliced cheese.
When the cheese melts, remove from the heat, stir, and serve in rolls.
For an extra kick, try putting some Tabasco sauce over the vegetables while grilling them.
• Eggplant and Ricotta Rolls with Ajvar
1 large eggplant, ends trimmed, peeled, and sliced lengthwise into 8 slabs; they should be about 1/3 to 1/2″ thick
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/4 cup fresh ricotta
1 jar ajvar or 1 cup thick, flavorful tomato sauce
salt and pepper
flat-leaf parsley (or fresh basil)
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Convection is great if you have it. Oil the eggplant slabs, place on a baking sheet (lined with a Silpat if you like), and lightly salt them. Roast until thoroughly tender, checking every few minutes after 15 minutes or so. There is nothing nastier than undercooked eggplant, so if in doubt, go a little farther.
2. Season the ricotta with salt and pepper.
3. Carefully (so they dont rip), transfer the eggplant slices to a serving platter one at a time. Fill each one with about 2 tablespoons of the ricotta mixture and fold in half. Arrange in a line.
4. Pour a good amount of the ajvar or tomato sauce in a line down the middle of the rolls. Hit the whole thing with a bit more salt, freshly ground black pepper, and a generous amount of parsley. And more extra-virgin olive oil if you are so inclined.
5. Serve at room temperature
