Zacusca is a traditional Romanian spread, usually prepared in the late summer after the eggplants and red bell peppers harvest. To preserve zacusca, Romanian housewives pour it into glass jars and store it over the winter in the pantry or in the cellar.
Zacusa Recipe – The Most Delicious Spread
The spread is traditionally made with eggplants and bell peppers, but there are other variations with mushrooms or even fish. Zacuscă is the Romanian term for this addictive spread, but in other parts of the Balkans, some use the term zakuska to refer to this delicious autumn spread.
Now that I’ve raised your curiosity, let’s get to the Romanian zacuscă recipe, the original one, passed on from generation to generation. Ready to make some zacuscă? Let’s get to the zacusca recipe.
The Romanian Zacusca Recipe
Try the original Romanian zacusca recipe with roasted eggplants and bellpeppers.
Servings 6 servings
Ingredients
- 500 g tomatoes
- 2 medium eggplants
- 4 red bellpeppers
- 1 onion
- 50 g sunflower oil
- 1 tbsp sugar (or honey)
- salt
Instructions
- Grill the eggplant and bell peppers (ideally on open fire grill plate).
- Peel them and finely chopp both the eggplants and bell peppers.
- Scald the tomatoes to make them easier to peel, then reomve the peels and cut them into quarters.
- Brown the finely chopped onion in a saucepan with the sunflower oil.
- Add the minced eggplant, bell peppers and the tomatoes over the onion and simmer them down.
- Add the sugar or honey, adjust the salt to taste and continue to simmer until the juice is reduced. Stirr continuously so the zacusca does not stick to the pan.
- Your zacusca is ready. Spread it on a slice of bread after it has cooled down, or you can pour it in a jar and store it in the fridge or in the pantry.
