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Bring more than a generous spread of Balkans-inspired sweetness and heat to your spread or dinner party with our lutenitsa recipe, and enjoy this flavorsome relish in so many different ways.
Lutenitsa Recipe
Whether you dip it, spread it, or dollop it, lutenitsa (also spelled as lyutenitsa, ljutenica, or lutenica) is a spread or relish that delivers a beautifully balanced sweet and heated or spicy flavor, while its rich red color makes for a gorgeous-looking dish at any gathering or feast you serve it.
What is Lutenitsa?
Lutenitsa can be classed as a spread, chutney, or relish, and is a hugely popular dish throughout the Balkans, especially in Bulgarian cuisine, Serbian cuisine, and North Macedonian cuisine.
While many variations exist, lutenitsa traditionally is a vegetable spread, commonly made with bell peppers, eggplant, and tomatoes, among other vegetables and seasonings.
Texturally it can be smoother or chunkier, depending on the region, as is the case with its flavor, with can be milder or hotter, again depending on where you try it. However, lutenitsa is commonly served cold.
Ingredients
To make lutenitsa, you first need to assemble the following ingredients:
- Bell Peppers – 5 large red bell peppers
- Tomatoes – 4 large tomatoes (~ 500 grams)
- Eggplant – 2 large eggplants/aubergines
- Garlic – 4 garlic cloves
- Olive Oil – 4 tbsp (~ 60 ml)
- Salt – 1 tsp
- Sugar – 1 tbsp
- Black Pepper – 1/2 tsp
- Parsley – a handful
- Chili Flakes – 1/3 tsp or a pinch (depending on how spicy you want the spread/relish to be)
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1 – Preheat the oven to 220°C (430°F). Halve the eggplants and the bell peppers, cleaning the seeds off the bell peppers. Pierce the eggplants with a fork. Place the eggplants and the peppers on a baking tray in the oven for about 35 minutes.
Step 2 – While the eggplants and peppers are in the oven, prep the tomatoes. First, score the tomatoes (as shown below).
Put the tomatoes in a pot or a large heatproof bowl and pour boiling water over them. Wait 10 minutes.
Rinse the tomatoes in cold water.
And then peel the skin and remove the stem.
Step 3 – Put the tomatoes in a food processor or a blender and mix.
Step 4 – Then, put the mixed tomatoes into a small pot or pan over medium heat, stirring from time to time, until the liquid halves, for about 25 minutes.
Before cooking the liquid out:
After reducing the liquid in half (after 25 minutes).
Step 5 – Once the peppers and the aubergines are done roasting in the oven, take them out and let them cool for about 10 minutes.
You can cover them with cling film/saran wrap to make them easier to peel.
Step 6 – Scoop out the eggplant flesh and put it in a strainer over a bowl, so that the bitter liquid from them drains. Leave them to drain for about 5-10 minutes.
Step 7 – Peel the peppers.
Step 8 – In a food processor or in a blender, add the peeled peppers, eggplants, parsley, and minced garlic and blend.
Blend until you have a slightly chunky consistency. Alternatively, if you don’t have a food processor or blender, you can cut them into very small cubes.
Step 9 – Add the peppers and eggplant mix to the pot with the reduced tomatoes along with the sugar, oil, salt, black pepper, and chili flakes, and cook everything over low heat for 30 minutes.
Lutenitsa is traditionally served cold, although this step is entirely up to you, so once cooked spoon the lutenitsa onto a plate or into a bowl, and let it rest until you’re ready.
We garnished our lutenitsa with a little parsley, both for flavor and decoration, before serving.
You can enoy it with a wide range of foods, from fresh, crusty bread to grilled vegetables. However you try it, one thing is for sure: more than a little Balkans magic is coming its way to your next gathering or dinner party when you serve up this sweet and delicious relish!
Lutenitsa Recipe Card
Lutenitsa
Ingredients
- 5 large red bell peppers
- 4 large tomatoes (~ 500 grams)
- 2 large eggplants/aubergines
- 4 garlic cloves
- 4 tbsp (~ 60 ml) of olive oil
- 1 tsp of salt
- 1 tbsp of sugar
- 1/2 tsp of black pepper
- a handful of parsley
- 1/3 tsp or a pinch of chili flakes (depending on how spicy you want the spread/relish to be)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 220°C (430°F). Halve the eggplants and the bell peppers, cleaning the seeds off the bell peppers. Pierce the eggplants with a fork. Place the eggplants and the peppers on a baking tray in the oven for about 35 minutes.
- While the eggplants and peppers are in the oven, prep the tomatoes. First, score the tomatoes (as shown below).
Put the tomatoes in a pot or a large heatproof bowl and pour boiling water over them. Wait 10 minutes. Rinse the tomatoes in cold water. And then peel the skin and remove the stem. - Put the tomatoes in a food processor or a blender and mix.
- Then, put the mixed tomatoes into a small pot or pan over medium heat, stirring from time to time, until the liquid halves, for about 25 minutes.
Before cooking the liquid out:
After reducing the liquid in half (after 25 minutes). - Once the peppers and the aubergines are done roasting in the oven, take them out and let them cool for about 10 minutes. You can cover them with cling film/saran wrap to make them easier to peel.
- Scoop out the eggplant flesh and put it in a strainer over a bowl, so that the bitter liquid from them drains. Leave them to drain for about 5-10 minutes.
- Peel the peppers.
- In a food processor or in a blender, add the peeled peppers, eggplants, parsley, and minced garlic and blend until you have a slightly chunky consistency.
Alternatively, if you don’t have a food processor or blender, you can cut them into very small cubes. - Add the peppers and eggplant mix to the pot with the reduced tomatoes along with the sugar, oil, salt, black pepper, and chili flakes, and cook everything over low heat for 30 minutes.
- Lutenitsa is traditionally served cold, although this step is entirely up to you, so once cooked spoon the lutenitsa onto a plate or into a bowl, and let it rest until you’re ready.
Put the tomatoes in a pot or a large heatproof bowl and pour boiling water over them. Wait 10 minutes. Rinse the tomatoes in cold water. And then peel the skin and remove the stem.
After reducing the liquid in half (after 25 minutes).
Alternatively, if you don’t have a food processor or blender, you can cut them into very small cubes.
You Might Also Like to Read
- Ajvar Recipe (Sweet and Creamy Roasted Pepper and Eggplant Relish from the Balkans)
- Romanian Eggplant Salad Recipe (Salata de Vinete)
Contributor: Efimia is a Moldovan teacher and passionate home cook, with over four decades of experience cooking classic Eastern European and Balkans dishes for her friends and family.