BY DOM LORENZO AND VANESSA ABLE

AJVAR: THE WINTRY PEPPER PRESERVE

Ajvar is a type of food called a ‘zimnica’ in the former Yugoslav states, meaning a winter preparation. Come September, when eggplants and peppers are ripe and piled in sky-high abundance at local market stalls, cooks come and buy them up by the crate load to take them home and make various preserves for the coming winter months. So important is this ritual (and so enormous a task) that it’s not uncommon to see entire families out in the forested parks lighting fires and roasting their pepper harvest en masse to save on time and electricity bills.The pepper traditionally used for ajvar today is called a ‘kurtovska kapija’ or ‘ajvarka’. So popular is ajvar that the ajvarka pepper  – a red variety who’s skin peels off easily after grilling – has been mass-produced in the region from the 1960s onwards specifically for the purpose of making the relish.Depending on how your ajvar comes out, you might find its thick, lumpy consistency reminds you a bit of caviar. The word ajvar is actually derived from the Ottoman-Turkish word havyar, or caviar. As such, ajvar is the new Balkan caviar, spread on bread or eaten as a side dish with your favorite grilled meat.