Lyutenitsa
Photo: EvelinaRibarova · CC BY-SA 4.0

History

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.

Make it at home

Yield 1Hands-on 1 hrTotal 3 hrDifficulty Intermediate

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.

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

Where to eat lyutenitsa

Lyutenitsa in Plovdiv

Stariyat Plovdiv ★ 4.3

$$ Eastern EuropeanKapanaUntil 00:00

Stariyat Plovdiv runs the charcoal grill until midnight. Kebapche, kyufte, shopska on the rooftop or in the courtyard; late-table Bulgarian classics.

TryCharcoal kebapche and Bulgarian salads

Directions

Restaurant Alafrangite ★ 4.3

$$ Traditional BulgarianOld Town

Restaurant Alafrangite occupies an 18th-century Revival house with a courtyard garden in Old Plovdiv. Bulgarian salads and meat dishes anchor the long menu.

SignatureSarmi, Bulgarian salads

Directions

Pavaj ★ 4.6

$$ 25-45 BGNBrunchModern Bulgarian late brunchKapana

Pavaj opens at noon as Kapana's late-brunch stop. Farm-driven Bulgarian small plates with house bread; weekend afternoons settle into long tables and Mavrud.

OrderFarm vegetable plate with Mavrud glass

Directions

Aylyakria ★ 4.4

$$ 20-35 BGNBrunchModern Bulgarian and gluten-free brunchKapana

Aylyakria runs an early-Kapana brunch in a Revival-era room. Banitsa, shopska, mish-mash and gluten-free options listed, alongside Bulgarian wines.

OrderBanitsa with sirene, shopska salad, glass of Bulgarian wine

Directions

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