Lutenitsa roasted pepper relish of Bulgaria

Lutenitsa roasted pepper relish (лютеница) may be the number one food export out of Bulgaria after feta cheese and yogurt. (We will talk about Bulgarian yogurt another time).  This spicy-sweet condiment makes a delicious snack or appetizer.  Spread it on a toasted bread round or cracker, serve it with meatballs or sausage, or simply spread it on a cold cut sandwich.  Adjust the heat by using more–or hotter–peppers, or eliminate the heat altogether by omitting the chilis.  

Jump to Recipe

You’ll find lutenitsa roasted pepper relish in many grocery ethnic foods sections and in specialty stores. What you probably won’t find is a jar of it marked “Lutenitsa.” I’ve almost always seen it marketed under the Turkish name “ajvar” and occasionally “pindjur” even if it has been produced in Bulgaria. If you do see the word it may also be spelled ljutenica, lyutenitsa, lyutenica, or lutenica but they’re all supposed to be pronounced the same way: lyu-ten-eet-sa.  In Romania this spread is known as zacuscă.

What’s in the jar?

Frequently the commercially produced ajvar or pindjur you find for sale will contain eggplant along with the roasted red peppers. Not all varieties contain tomatoes. And there may be other vegetable ingredients as well including spicy chili peppers, carrot, garlic, and onion. The version I like best has just peppers and tomatoes with just a hint of onion and a little bit of heat from chili peppers. More on that later.

Lutenitsa is such an important part of Bulgarian cuisine that someone even invented a countertop appliance for roasting peppers called a chushkopek (pictured below). I never saw one during my time there but I saw and ate a lot of delicious lutenitsa. Every home had it, either homemade or store bought. I think lutenitsa was the first Bulgarian dish I tried to make upon my return to the States.  I like it second only to banitsa in Bulgarian cuisine.

Simple but complex lutenitsa roasted pepper relish

Despite a very simple ingredient list, lutenitsa has a rich, complex flavor owing to the fact that the peppers are cooked twice. First they are roasted until charred. Then after peeling, you slowly cook the flesh down, concentrating the peppery sweetness. The inclusion of tomatoes here only intensifies the umami effect. You add just the smallest amount of sugar and you could probably omit it altogether.

I love spreading lutenitsa on bread, fresh or toasted. I like to make my own crouton rounds by slicing a baguette or Italian bread loaf into disks, brushing them with a little seasoned olive oil and toasting them for 10-15 minutes in the oven. Lutenitsa also works well as an accompaniment to meat. Bulgarians may serve it with meatballs or kebapche. You can also use it like a condiment on a sandwich, hotdog or hamburger.

Many variations possible for lutenitsa roasted pepper relish

I probably could have called this recipe “Lutenitsa I” because there are variations that I’ll include in the future.  But since this is my go-to recipe, I’m going to leave it as the foundation recipe for lutenitsa. It yields six 8-ounce jars of relish, which I recommend you preserve unless you’re going to give them all away for immediate consumption. I’ve included notes on canning after the recipe.

A note on the hot pepper: The recipe I created here includes a couple jalapeño peppers for a bit of heat, though in Bulgaria one would probably use what we call a Hungarian wax pepper.  (It’s a yellow-green banana-shaped pepper not to be confused with a mild banana pepper). Honestly I chose the jalapeño because it was about a third the price of the Hungarian one even though it is also about a quarter the heat. So two jalapeños are really equivalent to about a half a Hungarian hot pepper.

Interestingly, the root of the word lutenitsa is lyut– (лют-) which means ‘hot’ or even ‘fierce, burning, or vicious’ so a little fiery pepper in your relish is absolutely appropriate.  Yet most varieties are actually quite mild.

Making lutenitsa

Arrange about 4 pounds of whole red peppers plus a couple hot peppers (if you like a little heat) on a baking sheet and broil them 10-15 minutes until charred on one side.   Turn over and broil an additional 10-15 minutes.  Alternatively you could blacken the peppers one by one over a stovetop gas flame or all at once on an outdoor grill.

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When the peppers are blackened on all sides, remove from the oven and place in a covered bowl to steam. This will make removing the skins easier.  Let them cool 30 minutes to make them easier to handle and to loosen the skin.

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Prep the tomatoes

While the peppers are resting, bring a pot of water to boil.  Score the bottoms of the tomatoes with an X and submerge them into the boiling water. After a minute or two remove the tomatoes, rinse under cool water and peel.  Roughly chop the tomatoes into quarters and again in half.

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Peel and seed the cooled peppers.  Don’t worry too much if you can’t remove every square centimeter of skin as they are going to be pureed and cooked again.  Removing as much skin as possible will make for a more pleasing final product as the skins can be chewy.  But a little bit of pepper or tomato skin isn’t going to hurt anything.

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Now blend it up

Put the peeled peppers, chopped tomatoes, onion and oil into a food processor or blender. Pulse process them on a low-medium setting (blender) or process at high speed (food processor) until they are a chunky sauce consistency similar to a relish or chutney. You can process them longer if you want a very smooth sauce.  For spreading on bread or crackers, a little chunkiness is good.

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Pour the sauce into a large heavy pot, season with sugar and salt. Cook uncovered on medium-low heat 1½ to 2 hours.  Stir frequently to prevent sticking or burning.  After the sauce has thickened and nearly reduced by half, run a wooden spoon from the side of the pot towards the center.  When the lutenitsa does not immediately flow back to cover the spoon’s trace, it’s done.

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The recipe

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Canning note

You should can low acid foods under pressure for safety. Though the vegetables in this dish are already cooked, I recommend pressure canning for long-term storage of your lutenitsa. In my experience this “third” cooking of your sauce will not be detrimental. If anything it probably makes it even more delicious. I’m confident that once you taste your batch of lutenitsa, it won’t stick around in your pantry long enough to spoil anyway!