Lyutenitsa is the Bulgarian roasted pepper, tomato and aubergine spread. Sweet, smoky, slightly spicy, eaten on bread with sirene or alongside grills.

Lyutenitsa is the late-September Bulgarian preserve. Families roast bell peppers and aubergines over wood fires, peel them by hand, then cook the flesh with tomato into a thick spread put up in jars for winter. The Plovdiv plain is one of Bulgaria's largest pepper-growing regions, and the autumn roasting fills the city's neighbourhoods with sweet smoke.

Where to eat Lyutenitsa in Plovdiv

4 editor picks for Lyutenitsa in Plovdiv, ranked by editorial score. All Plovdiv signature dishes · Lyutenitsa across every city.

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Make it at home

Serves 13 hrIntermediate

Ingredients

  • 2 kg red bell peppers
  • 500g aubergines
  • 1 kg ripe tomatoes
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 100ml sunflower oil
  • 1 tablespoon sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 small hot chilli (optional)

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius. Roast peppers and aubergines on a tray for 30 minutes until blackened.
  2. Cover with a tea towel; rest 15 minutes. Peel and deseed.
  3. Pass roasted flesh through a food mill or pulse in a processor.
  4. Score and blanch tomatoes 30 seconds in boiling water. Peel and crush.
  5. Combine all in a heavy pot. Add garlic, oil, salt, sugar and chilli.
  6. Cook over low heat for 90 minutes, stirring often, until the mixture is glossy and thick enough to mound on a spoon.
  7. Spoon into sterilized jars. Seal.

Editor tip. The traditional Bulgarian method roasts over wood; if you can grill the peppers outdoors, do; the smoke is the dish's defining note.