Laura Laurențiu is one of the most influential food-bloggers from Romania.
I believe that the most beloved “something good” to preserve for winter is, for Romanians, this homemade zacusca. Basically, it is a traditional vegetable spread. Our neighbours, the Bulgarians, call it lutenitsa, which is more or less the same. My daughter absolutely loves it! She has been telling me for months now not to eschew it this year. Which, yeah, is what I did last year.

The most widespread variety of zacusca is the one made of aubergine as the main ingredient. I must specify that there are other varieties as well. Like the French beans, dried beans or mushroom zacusca. Coming back to my recipe: you should know that it is a simple one – I would say classic. I have been making it for years now. Before me, my grandma, my mum and all of my aunts have prepared it themselves, too. To obtain a proper zacusca, with a spectacular taste, it is essential that you use high-quality ingredients and that you give it the deserved attention during the preparation.
I use a large cast iron cauldron for this and I prefer to cook it outdoors, but, of course, this zacusca can be cooked on your kitchen stove as well. My advice is to choose a thick bottomed, preferably non-stick pot. Also, I usually place a cast iron plate between the flame and the pot’s bottom. It would be desirable if you didn’t place the pot directly on the stove’s flame, because zacusca may easily burn and change its taste.

The zacusca is made of natural ingredients only: aubergine, red pepper, onion, thick tomato juice/purée (such as passata), sunflower oil and seasonings.
- 3kg aubergines; pick the ones with the black, shiny skin – slightly fluffy when touched
- 2kg red bell peppers
- 1kg onions
- 1 liter tomato puree such as passata
- 500ml sunflower oil
- 1 tsp peppercorn
- salt to your taste
- ground pepper to your taste
- 3-4 pieces bay leaves
For the preparation of this vegetable spread you can safely use the peppers as they are, uncooked. I prefer to roast them before adding them to the other ingredients, though. But what you cannot possibly skip is the roasting of the aubergines until they become soft.
1. You can go about this any way you think is easier. You can roast the aubergines on the grill, on a hot metallic surface or directly on the stove, actually on anything that gives you the possibility to do it. But the main thing is that they must come into direct contact with a flame or a very hot surface. It is highly recommended that the aubergine’s peel becomes slightly charred. This will give them the nice, smoky flavour that is essential for zacusca. I recommend you to pierce the aubergines beforehand to avoid any accidents that might occur in case of an explosion. Yes, they can explode during the roasting!
2. You need to roast them all around until the peel becomes slightly charred here and there and the flesh is very soft. After that, put them, one by one, on a working surface. Open the aubergine lengthwise, using a wooden/ceramic/plastic/stainless steel utensil. Scrape out all the soft and moist flesh inside.
3. Straight away, put the aubergine flesh in a colander placed on top of a bowl for the collection of the bitter liquid they produce after roasting. Chop the aubergines very finely with a non-metallic object (wooden or earthenware), so as to prevent them from oxidizing.
4. Coming back to our peppers: as I said before, you can successfully make the vegetable spread with raw peppers, passed through the food processor. In this case, it will take longer for them to cook and it will make the spread as a whole harder to digest because of the thin skin of the peppers. My recommendation is to roast the peppers as well, using the same procedure: direct contact with a very hot surface, like a hot grill.
5. As soon as the peppers are well roasted (their skin has a charred look all around) take them out in a bowl and cover with a lid. Allow them to rest in the steam they generate until they are cool enough for you to be able to touch them. Keep in mind not to use water at all when peeling the roasted aubergines and peppers! The vegetables are usually washed prior to being roasted and it is not advisable that they come in contact with water again. This would cause them to lose their pleasant taste, as well as their roast, smoky flavour.

6. The next step is to skin the roasted peppers. Remove their stubs and seeds as well. Process the clean roasted pepper flesh until you get a coarse, but homogenous texture
7. Pass the onions as well through the food processor. Now we are ready to cook our vegetable spread!
8. Add the oil (all at once) in the pot. Place it on the hob, on medium-low heat. Add the onions and a teaspoon of salt. You need to add salt from the very beginning in order to draw out the water from the onion. This will make it cook by slow braising, rather than by frying. Stir frequently and cook the onion until it becomes soft (about 8-10 minutes).
9. Add the minced (or finely chopped) roasted peppers. Stir thoroughly and bring to a boil.
10. After 1-2 minutes of boiling, add the chopped aubergines. Stir well.
11. Add the tomato juice, the peppercorns and the bay leaves. Stir well, reduce the temperature and cover the pot only partially with a lid, so as to allow the steam to dispel without, however, leaving it completely uncovered, because, while boiling, the zacusca, being viscous, tends to make quite a mess/to bespatter everything around.
12. Boil the mixture for an hour, checking and stirring every 10 minutes, insisting on the bottom. If you want, you may, of course, check the pot even more often than that. You don’t need to boil it for a longer time, since all the ingredients are already cooked. Finally, the spread has a homogenous, pasty consistency. Season it with salt and ground pepper to your taste. If you wish to emphasise the sweetness of the peppers and the onion, you may also add a tablespoon of sugar.
13. For properly preserving our zacusca, we will need to store in sterilised jars. Pour the hot zacusca in sterilised jars placed on a metallic tray. Seal off the jars and place them together with the tray in the preheated oven at 100°C (212°F), for about an hour, then switch off the oven and leave them inside to cool down completely. Another option would be to place the jars filled with zacusca in some kind of a nest padded with several layers of thick blankets, to cloak them well and allow them to cool down slowly. When the jars are cool, you may store them in a cool, dark pantry.
Before wrapping up, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the quantities of this recipe are merely meant to serve as a guide. What I want to say is that my aunts prepare the same recipe using a whole litre of oil. I have sensibly reduced it to half, considering 1 litre to be too much and too useless. My zacusca came out just as good (or better, without false modesty). Similarly, if you expect more acidity from you zacusca, add a little additional tomato puree. Nothing bad will happen, it will only be a bit sourer.
If you have an additional aubergine besides the three recommended kilograms, do not abandon it! Add it to the recipe with all confidence, it will not influence anything negatively. Also, if your taste feels the need for some additional spice other than the classic ones already indicated, please do not hesitate to add it, too. As long as you do not exaggerate, adding little by little, stirring thoroughly and tasting after each new supplement, everything will be just perfect. For example, my inspiration generally demands a pinch of caraway powder in my zacusca and no one ever complained. Enjoy it!

Photo credit: © Laura Laurențiu; © Calin Stan | Dreamstime.com; © Todorean Gabriel | Dreamstime.com