LUTENITSA

Ingredients for 6/8 people :

1 kilo of red peppers (= 8/10 red peppers),

1 eggplant,
1 tbsp of tomato concentrate,
3 tbsp of ordinary oil (ex. sunflower),
1 garlic clove,
1 tbsp of sugar,
1 tbsp of vinegar,
2/3 pinch of salt,
1 pinch ground red pepper,
+ a blender or robot to mix all the preparation.

Of course, you can adjust this ingredients according to your taste and create
your own lutenitsa recipe. Also, instead of buying a tomato concentrate already
made in shop, you can also to prepare it yourself. I just decided not to make lot of
preparation for this time and buy it in shop. Precision: on my first photo, there is a
zucchini but it was not planned, so do not take it into account, she would have liked to
be part of the program. (But its not possible !).

You can prepare Lutenitsa at home

in only few minutes, because its not really difficult to realize : Preparation : 15-20
min / Baking : 45 min / Budget : < 6 levas-3 (for 6/8 people).

Pre-wash all vegetables. Take the red peppers in first. Evaporate and seed it and
arrange on a baking sheet. Place the plate in the grill position at 200C and roast by
turning each time when large brown blistering forms. Grill the peppers and on all
sides. A sweet pepper smell spreads throughout the kitchen. Reserve the peppers in a
covered dish, the skin will be removed more easily. Wrap the eggplant in aluminum foil,
place it halfway in the oven and bake at 200 C for 30 minutes. Let it cool in a salad
bowl by splitting it in 2-3 places to make it juice. Normaly, you have to peel the peppers
and the eggplant but I peeled only the eggplant, chop the garlic (For better digestion,
remove the heart from the garlic clove). Put all the ingredients in an electric robot or as
me in a blender and mix enough to obtain a smooth and homogeneous paste. Serve
fresh as an appetizer or spread on toast as an aperitif. I tasted it, and for a first time,
Im very proud of myself, very nice ! !
 LUTENITSA

Equipment:
8-10 16oz jars with screw on lids
1 large pot (at least 7 deep)

Ingredients:
Makes about 8-10 16oz jars

10-11 pounds (25-30 peppers) of sweet red peppers

6 medium carrots, peeled and sliced in half
2 sticks of celery, sliced in four
1 cup parsley, chopped
18oz (1 medium + 1 small cans) tomato paste
1.5 tsp salt
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tblsp balsamic or red wine vinegar (optional)

Directions:

1. Wash and dry the jars.

2. Preheat your grill to 400 F.
3. Wash the peppers and remove the stems and seeds. Keep the peppers whole, do not
slice them. If you prefer you can roast the peppers with the stems and seeds and
remove them later*. Grill the peppers in batches until evenly charred on all sides. Place
and keep the roasted peppers in a large metal pot with a lid and keep the lid on through
the entire grilling process (this is an important step because it will allow the peppers to
steam which will make their skin easier to remove later). When done grilling, place the
pot with roasted peppers aside.
4. Place carrots and celery in a medium pot, cover them with water and bring to a boil.
Lower down to a low-heat and simmer until the carrots and celery are soft, about 10-15
minutes. Drain the water and let the carrots and celery to cool down for 15 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, remove the skin of all peppers using your hands or scrape them with the
back of a knife. Remove any seeds or stems if left. Working in batches, place the
 peppers in a food processor and pulse until chopped into small pieces. Make sure that
the peppers are not pureed. If you dont have a food processor, stack 3-4 peppers and
finely chop them using a large kitchen knife. Place the chopped peppers in a large
bowl.
6. Place the boiled carrots and celery in a food processor or blender and puree until
smooth. Place the puree in the large bowl with the peppers.
7. Add all the remaining ingredients to the bowl and mix with a large spoon until
everything is well incorporated.
8. Take a jar, make sure it is dry, and fill it with Lutenitsa using a spoon. Make sure the
jar is not filled all the way to the top, fill only to the point where the jar neck starts.
Wipe clean the jar top, otherwise it might not create a solid vacuum with the lid. Close
the jar with a lid and make sure the lid is tight. Repeat the process with the remaining
jars until no Lutenitsa is left.
9. Working in batches if necessary, place the closed Lutenitsa jars in a large pot. Make
sure that the pot is deep enough; you need at least 2 inches of space above the top of
the jars. Fit as many jars as you can but make sure the jars are not touching each other.
Fill the pot with water so that it covers the jar lids by at least an inch. Bring the pot to a
boil, lower to low-heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Check the jars from time to time to
make sure no jar is leaking or broken.
10. Dump the water from the pot carefully, it will be really hot! Using clamps or a thick
kitchen towel, carefully remove jars from the pot and place them on a kitchen towel.
Make sure all the lids had popped up, This will ensure that the sterilizing process was
successful. If a lid has not popped up, let the jar cool down and replace or re-close the
lid and sterilize again. Repeat the sterilizing process with the remaining jars.
11. Allow the jars to cool for about an hour and flip them with their neck down on the
towel (this flattens the lid and makes the jars easier to stack).
12. Cool the jars completely and store in a cool place. Lutenitsa can be stored for up to 2
years.

*Removing the stems and seeds after the peppers are roasted is a bit more difficult and
messier. The seeds might be quite stubborn; briefly run the peppers under water to
remove the seeds if necessary.
 LUTENITSA CU ROSII COAPTE SI ARDEI IUTE.
S.O.S. DIN BUCATARIA BULGAREASCA
Lutenitsa este un preparat similar cu zacusca, specific buctriei bulgreti n
special, dar i celei macedonene i srbeti. Existnd i variante romneti, a
devenit foarte apreciat n Balcani i n regiunea acestora i n prezent a ptruns i
se ntlnete i n market-urile occidentale. Ca orice produs popular, prezint
diverse variaiuni de la o regiune la alta, respectiv, mai iute sau mai puin iute, cu
vinete sau fr vinete, cu ardei sau fr. Prepar lutenitsa (lutenita) i are mare
succes de cate ori ies la un grtar cu prietenii sau stm 2-3 zile la balt, la pescuit.
Am sau nu chef, vine ntrebarea Faci i tu un borcan cu sos din la iute?.

Ingrediente necesare lutenitsa:

5-6 roii
2 ardei grai sau kapia nu prea mari
1 ceap potrivit
1 cpn usturoi
1 ardei iute
1 legtur ptrunjel
piper, sare, ulei de msline

Preparare lutenitsa:
Splm roiile i le dm la cuptor, ntr-o tav, s se coac bine.

Curm ceapa i o dm pe o rztoare mic, s fie o prezen ct ma delicat n

sos. Usturoiul l curm i l zdrobim bine n mojar sau cu presa. Tocm mrunt
ardeiul iute, nlturnd sau nu seminele dup cum dorete fiecare. Conform
preferinelor, putei pune un ardei mai iute sau mai puin iute, sau l putei
nltura din reet dac tii c nu v priete. Ardeiul kapia l coacem pe grill, i
dm un praf de sare, l curm de pielia ars i l tocm mrunt. Dac preferai,
putei s coacei ardeiul i la cuptor mpreun cu roiile, dar eu l prefer pe grtar
deoarece, zic eu, este mai gustos i aromat.
Presrm sare i piper proaspt mcinat peste usturoiul zdrobit i ardeiul iute
tocat i le frecm cu o lingur de ulei de msline, pentru a extrage i valorifica
sucul usturoiului i iueala ardeiului. Adugm ceapa dat pe rztoare i ardeiul
copt tocat i omogenizm totul cu o lingur de lemn. Roiile rumenite la cuptor i
rcite, ct s nu frig la degete, se cur de pielie, se pun ntr-un castron i se
zdrobesc bine cu furculia. Dup ce au stat cca. 30 de minute la cuptor se vor
cura i zdrobi foarte uor. Adugm n castronul cu roii, usturoiul, ceapa i
ardeiul, mai punem o lingur de ulei i le amestecm bine cu lingura de lemn.

Tocm ptrunjelul mrunt i-l presrm peste lutenitsa, amestecnd. Gustm sa

vedem cum stm cu sarea i eventual mai adugm dup gust.

Asta-i tot! Aceasta este una din variantele de preparare a lutenitsei. Dac doriti s
preparai mai mult, se poate conserva sosul si pstra ca i bulionul, murturile,
etc. Lutenitsa merge de minune cu orice carne la grtar sau n tigaie, cu
chiftelue, cu pete sau pur i simplu pe pine prjit, aa cum de multe ori o
mnnc bulgarii. Eu am dat nite petiori prin mlai amestecat cu boia i sare
i cu lutenitza a fost trs bon, cum ar zice latinul.
Sa fiti bine!