Top | The Glorious Foods of Greece
(recipe, Diane Kochilas)
Introduction
Macedonia offers many versions of this spicy relish, which is used as a condiment, especially with grilled meats and as a spread for bread. This recipe comes from a group of women at the Cooperative in Prespes, who make it and sell it at the hotel they run.
Ingredients
Steps
Note
Wear rubber gloves when cleaning hot peppers. How to roast peppers: Preheat the broiler. Place the peppers on a baking sheet in neat rows and roast about 8 inches from the heat source, turning until blistered on all sides. Remove from the oven and let the peppers cool until they can be handled. Place one pepper at a time on a small plate, holding it by the stem. Either with your fingers or with a small knife, peel away the skin. Remove the stem, split open the pepper lengthwise, scrape away and discard the seeds and white veins, and place in a container. How to roast eggplant: Wash and pat dry the eggplants. Keep the stems on. For stovetop roasting, set the heat to low and place the eggplant directly on the heat source, turning with tongs, until charred and soft on all sides. Make sure it is soft at the fleshy part near the stem; there is a lot of "meat" at the top, and it should not be wasted. For roasting under a broiler, preheat the broiler, place the eggplant on a sheet pan and puncture the surface of the skin in several places with the tines of a fork, and broil about 8 inches from the heat source, turning, until charred and soft all over. (It takes longer to roast eggplant under a broiler than on top of the stove.) Removing the eggplant pulp: Remove the eggplant from the oven and place on a large cutting board. Let cool enough to handle. Using a sharp paring knife, cut down the center of the eggplant, opening it like a butterfly. Score the flesh horizontally and vertically, being careful not to go down to the skin. Using a spoon, scoop out as many seeds as possible and discard them, then scoop out the pulp, going as close to the skin as possible. Remove any pieces of charred skin that you may scrape out accidentally.