Equinox in the Balkans

I didn't look at my calendar yesterday, but walking home after church I just knew it had to be the first day of Fall. The scorching heat of the summer was gone and a slight chill accented the warm morning air, but that's not how I knew. At first it was only a hint of it in the air, but then a light breeze picked up and there it was! The smokey sweet smell of roasting peppers.

From now until about mid-October this smell will dominate your senses here in the Balkans as people roast peppers for making a local specialty called "Ivar." (aka in Cyrillic letters "AJBEP.") This is a type of pepper-relish that is great on bread with feta cheese. Though it can be an aquired taste, it's a whole lot of cultural fun to make.

Two years ago I was able to go out to a nearby village with a couple from church and make it. Boy was it hard work! Yes, it's just washing, roasting, peeling and coring, but when you're working with 50 kilos (about 110lbs) of peppers it adds up! The time spent with Macedonians making it, though, is pricesless.

If you're feeling adventurous, here's a simple recipe to make your own Ivar: (ingredients and amounts can vary here by region)

3 kilos red sweet peppers (pictured above)

2-3 small hot peppers to spice it up for flavor (optional... add too many and it's called "lutenitsa"... or hot sauce rather than ivar)
1 small eggplant

Oil

Salt to taste

Wash and core peppers (some Macedonians will actually peel and core after roasting, but trust me, it's SO much easier to core first to get rid of all the seeds rather than later).

Grill the peppers and eggplant over wood (best for the smokey flavor) until skin is crispy

As each batch is done, place peppers and the eggplant in a plastic bag to "sweat"

Peel the peppers, cut lenthwise and place them in a bowl or on a plate

Peel the eggplant

Grind the peppers and eggplant together and put in large soup pot

Add about 1tsp salt to start and 1/3 cup oil (personally, I like to use as little as possible, while locally, they'd use a bit more)

Cook over low/med heat for several hours, stirring with a wooden spoon.

Put some fresh warm Ivar on some bread and enjoy! Jar and store the remainder. This batch should make about 2 large Majonaise-jars full.

Footnote:

You know, the smell of roasting peppers in the air is just one of the ways to tell that it's the first day of Fall. Other indicators include all the ice cream freezers at the markets will be locked shut (likewise, the harborer of the first day of spring is that they'll all be opened that day) as well as the chestnuts beginning to fall from the trees. Roasting the chestnuts, however, is an indicater of winter, and we're not there yet! ;)