Roasted Eggplant and Pepper Spread (Zacusca) – the most delicious vegetable spread. Worth the effort, this is the perfect snack or appetizer that’s extremely popular in Eastern Europe!
I am so excited to share this recipe with you – Roasted Eggplant and Pepper Spread, or as we call it in Romania, Zacusca! As a little girl, I grew up eating this vegetable spread and now it’s one of my favorite snacks. I do have to confess, as a child I used to hate it, because of course, like most children – I hated vegetables. However, as I got older, I definitely smartened up and realized what I was missing!
Although it may be a labor of love, every minute spent making this delicious recipe is worth it. Freshly roasted eggplant and a mix of capia and pimento peppers are blended together with tomato sauce and simple spices creating a boldly flavored, distinctive and exquisite vegetable spread. It truly is delicious!
What is Zacusca?
If you’ve never heard of this vegetable spread, let me tell you now – it’s unbelievable. Zacusca is the Romanian word, and this spread is pretty popular in Eastern Europe. There are two different types of peppers used here, capia peppers and pimento peppers! You can find these in abundance at farmers markets during the fall season.
This recipe is my mother’s, which I have modified just a tiny bit. My mom’s recipe calls for almost double the oil and double the salt I have listed. I wanted to make my recipe a bit healthier by reducing the oil and salt to see if there was a noticeable difference, and I’m proud to say there wasn’t any at all – still tastes just like my mom’s!
Get grilling
Most of the work involves roasting the veggies. You can either grill them, or use your oven. I have done both, and either works, the grilling does give them a bit of a smoky flavor, so if you like that, use your grill.
You want to grill all the eggplants and peppers until they are charred, then remove the skin and the seeds from the peppers. This is probably the most time consuming step, but once it’s done, you’re pretty much home free! All that’s left to do is to cook the spread and sterilize the jars (read the section below for a step by step how to!).
Ingredients
Keep scrolling down to the printable recipe card for a list of FULL ingredients amounts and instructions or click the “Jump to Recipe” button at the top of the page!
- Eggplants – Grilled or baked until charred.
- Capia Peppers – Red bell peppers work as well, grilled until charred.
- Pimento Peppers – grilled until charred.
- Onions – Chopped.
- Vegetable Oil – You want a mild flavor oil so a vegetable oil is best, like canola or sunflower oil. I wouldn’t use olive oil because it’s too strong tasting.
- Tomato Sauce – Use your preference.
- Salt & Pepper – I have also cut down the salt in half from my mom’s original recipe but taste it and adjust to your taste.
- Bay Leaves – For deep flavor.
How to make roasted eggplant and red pepper spread (zacusca)
Prep Ingredients
- Grill Eggplants: To grill the eggplants, make sure to poke holes in them with a knife, so they don’t explode! Grill them until soft and charred. They will take a good 30-45 minutes to get a nice char on them. Transfer them to a bowl and let them cool completely. Remove the peel, using a knife – if you’ve cooked them enough, the peel should come off easily. Try and get them as clean as possible with no char bits on them. Place them in a colander over a bowl and let them drain for a few minutes.
- Grill the Peppers: Grill the peppers, or roast them in the oven until they are almost completely charred. Let them cool completely. There are a couple ways to remove the peel. You can either peel them under running water or place them in a bowl with about a tbsp of salt. Cover them with a lid and let them rest for about 20 minutes. After 20 minutes the peel should come off quite easily. Peel them and remove all the seeds from them. Also place the peppers in a colander over a bowl and let them drain for a few minutes.
- Chop: The next step you can do in small batches, depends how big your food processor is! Place some eggplant into the food processor and pulse a few times until the eggplant is finely chopped, but do not pulse it too much, you don’t want it to look like a paste. Repeat the same with the peppers.
Make the spread
- Cook Onions: In a very large pot heat the oil and add the onions. Cook the onions until soft, make sure not to burn them. They should just start to change color.
- Add Ingredients & Cook: Carefully add the eggplant and peppers and stir using a wooden spoon. Next, add tomato sauce, then add the salt, black pepper and bay leaves. This will require 3 hours of cooking over low to medium heat, stirring occasionally (I stirred every 10 minutes, just so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom).
In the meantime, sterilize your jars! (read below)
Sterilizing your jars
The sterilizing technique here is my dad’s, so if you have another way you prefer – feel free to use it!
- Wash the jars with soap in scalding water. Put jars in a water-bath canner or on a rack set in a deep pot and cover with hot water.Bring water to a boil and boil jars, covered, 15 minutes from time steam emerges from pot. Turn off the heat and let them stand in hot water.
- Just before the spread is ready to be canned, place the jars (lids off) in the oven at 350F degrees for 10 minutes.
- Take them out and carefully fill the jars with zacusca, leaving about an inch left from the top. Place the lid onto the rim and, using one finger to hold the lid securely, twist on the screw band until it’s tight.
- Once this is done with all the jars, place them back in the oven and continue baking for another 15 minutes; after which you can turn off the oven, and let them cool in there for a few hours.
Double down
One thing I’d like to mention here is that the quantities listed in the recipe is what you need after the eggplants and peppers have been roasted and cleaned – not before! To get 5.5 lbs of roasted eggplant, you should double that when you purchase them, same with the peppers.
You can also cut down the recipe, the quantities provided will produce 12, 500ml jars of each. On the plus side, if you end up with more eggplant than needed, you can always use it to make my delicious eggplant salad or just simply add it all to this recipe, it is a very forgiving recipe! Also, if you have leftover roasted peppers, use them to make roasted peppers with garlic sauce, it’s to die for, or again just add it to this recipe.
How to serve
In my house, we usually eat it on bread – just like you see in the pictures! It’s meant as a snack or an appetizer, but you can use it as a relish for meats, a sandwich spread, in pasta, or for whatever you see fit!
How to store
Zacusca is usually made in large batches – perfect for canning or jarring for preserving! You can store the spread in your pantry for your family to enjoy all year long.
Keep the jar refrigerated after opening.
Did you like this recipe? Try these!
- Romanian Stuffed Peppers
- Eggplant Parmesan
- Instant Pot Hummus
- Plum Dumplings (Galuste cu Prune)
- Best Ever Spinach Dip
- Pasca – Romanian Easter Bread
- Romanian Meatballs
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Roasted Eggplant and Pepper Spread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 5 1/2 pounds eggplant grilled until charred
- 4 1/2 pounds capia peppers or red bell peppers, grilled until charred
- 4 1/2 pounds pimento peppers grilled until charred
- 2 pounds onions chopped
- 3 cups vegetable oil
- 6 cups tomato sauce
- 3 tablespoon salt or to taste
- 2 tablespoon black pepper ground
- 5 bay leaves
Instructions
Prep Ingredients
- Grill Eggplants: To grill the eggplants, make sure to poke holes in them with a knife, so they don’t explode! Grill them until soft and charred. They will take a good 30-45 minutes to get a nice char on them. Transfer them to a bowl and let them cool completely. Remove the peel, using a knife – if you’ve cooked them enough, the peel should come off easily. Try and get them as clean as possible with no char bits on them. Place them in a colander over a bowl and let them drain for a few minutes.
- Grill the Peppers: Grill the peppers, or roast them in the oven until they are almost completely charred. Let them cool completely. There are a couple ways to remove the peel. You can either peel them under running water or place them in a bowl with about a tbsp of salt. Cover them with a lid and let them rest for about 20 minutes. After 20 minutes the peel should come off quite easily. Peel them and remove all the seeds from them. Also place the peppers in a colander over a bowl and let them drain for a few minutes.
- Chop: The next step you can do in small batches, depends how big your food processor is! Place some eggplant into the food processor and pulse a few times until the eggplant is finely chopped, but do not pulse it too much, you don’t want it to look like a paste. Repeat the same with the peppers.
Make The Spread
- Cook Onions: In a very large pot heat the oil and add the onions. Cook the onions until soft, make sure not to burn them. They should just start to change color.
- Add Ingredients & Cook: Carefully add the eggplant and peppers and stir using a wooden spoon. Next, add tomato sauce, then add the salt, black pepper and bay leaves. This will require 3 hours of cooking over low to medium heat, stirring occasionally (I stirred every 10 minutes, just so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom).
Sterilize Jars
- Prep The Jars: Wash the jars with soap in scalding water. Put jars in a water-bath canner or on a rack set in a deep pot and cover with hot water.Bring water to a boil and boil jars, covered, 15 minutes from time steam emerges from pot. Turn off the heat and let them stand in hot water.
- Place Jars in Oven: Just before the spread is ready to be canned, place the jars (lids off) in the oven at 350F degrees for 10 minutes.
- Fill The Jars: Take them out and carefully fill the jars with zacusca, leaving about an inch left from the top. Place the lid onto the rim and, using one finger to hold the lid securely, twist on the screw band until it’s tight.
- Finish And Let The Jars Cool: Once this is done with all the jars, place them back in the oven and continue baking for another 15 minutes; after which you can turn off the oven, and let them cool in there for a few hours.
Recipe Notes
- The quantities listed in the recipe is what you need after the eggplants and peppers have been roasted and cleaned – not before! To get 5.5 lbs of roasted eggplant, you should probably double that when you purchase them, same with the peppers. If you forget this, don’t worry, you’ll just end up with less spread, this recipe is very forgiving.
- This recipe will fill 12 jars (500ml each).
- Nutritional information is based on 1/4 cup.
Great recipe! I quartered the recipe and used red and yellow bell peppers. My Romanian husband says it “tastes like the real thing”! Very high compliment. I really appreciated the comment at the end that the quantities of eggplant and peppers are after roasted and cleaned. Thank you, Jo.
I often use your Romanian recipes since they are written in English and quite authentic.
Thanks, Terri! I’m so glad you’re enjoying my recipes!
oh, I’m so making this tomorrow! I LOVE zacusca! I’m half Romanian and my Romanian grandmother used to make it every fall and store many jars for the winter. it was delicious ♡♡ I’ve seen some Eastern European type of zacusca in stores but they didn’t taste too good.
thanks for sharing the recipe 😀
You are more than welcome! It’s my favorite!! 🙂
What temperature do you roast the eggplants and bell peppers at?
If you roast them in the oven, I usually do them at 400F, just make sure to poke holes in the eggplants, otherwise they might explode. 🙂
In Serbia we call it AJVAR.
This sounds a lot like Ayvar. I think this is what is called in the Balkans. It’s very easy to buy in Germany, but I’d like to try it. Thanks for the recipe.
Yes, it’s quite similar.
I love Zakuszka!! And put it down every single year. I’m not Romanian (Hungarian) but have a friend from Transylvania that introduced me to this delight many years ago. I realize there are as many ways to make this as there are kitchens, and I’m sure they’re all wonderful. I use pimento peppers exclusively and don’t saute my onions at all. Also, I use canned tomatoes, drained. I was told never to use a metal knife on the eggplant to preserve its colour and to keep it from getting bitter. I have a large plastic knife that I hack the eggplant with until it’s almost mush. One more difference, I grind everything (except the eggplant) in a meat grinder. AND I bake in the oven for about 3 hours, stirring only once or twice. In the oven chances of scorching are minimal.so, I guess I do quite a few things differently. 🙂 No matter, it’s all good. I bake crusty French bread, fresh, to eat with the zakuska. This year I made 30 pints, 10 of those will be going as Christmas gifts. Every year I give as gifts and people rave about it. Thank you for posting this in English. Most sites have it in Romanian or Hungarian. It’s nice to see old world traditions passed to newer generations. Even if they don’t speak their mother’s language (or father’s).
Hi Suzanna! That’s what I aim to do with the few traditional recipes I know. 🙂 This is a favorite and yeah whenever I make it, most of them end up as gifts to family and friends, everyone loves it!
An American Romanca here!! I lived in rural Romania during my Peace Corps service and I have a notebook with handwritten recipes that I collected from bunicas but it’s in the attic! We are going to make a small batch of zacusca and salata de vinete today!! I did find it interesting that different regions added different veggies to zacusca…. in zona moldova, mushrooms were often added!!
Hi Veronica! Yeah, I know they all make it differently, same with salata de vinete. 🙂
Fabulous recipe that my wife said was just like she remembered from her childhood. The only change I made was to add 1 cup of apple cider vinegar to bring the pH a bit lower. Since eggplant and peppers are close to neutral pH, I wanted to be sure to get the pH below the critical level for bacteria (botulism). I suspect the tomato sauce would get it close, but I wanted to be more certain.
I’m so glad you like this! 🙂
Thank you very much, I was looking for a zakuska recipe to recommend it to my friends in USA. I’m not sure what a serving is? 2 tbsp maybe?
Well, basically this will produce 12 jars and I calculated it based on 4 servings per jar, so that’s about 1/4 of a jar per serving. I never just eat 2 tbsp. 🙂
I ate this a long time ago and never found the perfect recipe. I’ll gonna make it soon but I will be cutting the recipe in half coz that’s a lot for 2 people. I hope it works and do you recommend doing anything if i cut it in half?
No, I don’t think anything different is necessary, good luck with it!
Jo,
Sper ca inca stii romana 🙂
Cautam de zor o reteta de zacusca, de cand sunt in SUA nu am mai mancat si era una dintre preparatele mele preferate. Iti multumesc din suflet pentru reteta si evident, am s-o incerc in weekend-ul asta. Te imbratisez cu drag si ma bucur ca asm dat de blogul tau!
Da bineinteles ca inca mai stiu romana. 🙂 Imi pare foarte bine ca ai dat de blogul meu. Sper sa incerci zacusca mea, e foarte buna. 🙂
Esti minunata!
Iti las un mesaj aici dupa ce o fac sa-ti spun cum a fost. 🙂
Abia astept! 🙂
Hi Jo, you have another great recipe here! It’s really similar to how we make it, but i cut down on the oil as well. What is it with Romanian mothers and oil? 😉 I was wondering if you’ve ever tried making a version of zacusca with zucchini in it? Tis the season for zucchini over abundance and I’m always looking for recipes to incorporate it into. Thanks again for your site. I’ve enjoyed many recipes on here and I’ve pinned many more to try. I really appreciate all the work you put into sharing these recipes with us. Enjoy your weekend!
Hi Simona!
I have to say I’ve never tried zacusca with zucchini. Yes zucchini season is upon us but honestly I never even heard of it. I’ll have to look into it or ask my mom or mother in law. You have a great weekend as well. 🙂
You forgot to leave the instructions on when to put the tomato sauce, but I assumed it was when you added in the eggplant/peppers. I have been dying to make this since I saw it on Pinterest but seeing it’s offseason for pimento peppers I just doubled the red peppers. It’s amazing. I can’t imagine how yummy it will be with the pimento peppers next year. Awesome recipe!!!
You’re right Marie, right after the eggplant and the peppers. You will love it with pimento peppers! 🙂
In Serbia, we call this spread ajvar. It is usually made with eggplant and peppers, but in the south, where the peppers are plentiful. they make it only with peppers. This is one of my favourite spreads, and I can eat it all day long. It is beautiful with some roasted potatoes, cheese and bacon. Yum! I made it with my grandma a few years ago, and I must say that it is a lot of work. We made around 30 jars, and used more than 100 kg of peppers and around 20 kg of eggplant. After 12 hours of peeling the peppers, I was exhausted. In Serbia, we don’t use onions or tomato sauce.
LOL, 100 kg of peppers? Oh my! I know I was exhausted after making 12 jars. I’ve never tried it with peppers only but I can only imagine I’d love it, because I’m not really an eggplant fan. 🙂
Am fost uimita sa gasesc o reteta de zacusca pe un site strain, apoi am citit ca esti nascuta in Romania. Ma bucur ca faci cunoscute retete traditionale romanesti, iar aceasta reteta chiar ti-a iesit minunat. Felicitari.
Multumesc foarte mult Doina. 🙂
Hi Jo, can I do the last step on a water bath? Thanks
Absolutely! I’m so glad you’re trying this recipe, you’ll love it. 🙂