Just in case you are craving something new and different, I am sharing the traditional Romanian zacuscã recipe, adapted for easily available ingredients and a bit less work than the rigidly traditional, from scratch version.

Instead of barbecuing the eggplants myself, I am using store bought frozen barbecued eggplants. The good thing about these is that there are no chemicals added, it is jut the eggplant and nothing else.

Similarly, instead of the home roasted peppers, I am using pickled roasted red peppers from a jar – not to say that I wouldn’t know how to prepare them: to get them to look like the ones in the picture below, the peppers need to be barbecued till the skin is well charred all around, left to sit with salt and then have their skin peeled away.

Please note that he original recipe does call for home made tomato sauce, but the pickled peppers add a measure of sour taste to the spread, so adding tomato sauce is optional for this version.

Ingredients:

• 2 boxes of frozen barbecued eggplants (around 900 grams per box)
• 3 jars of pickled roasted red peppers (720 ml jars)
• 8 medium size onions
• 400 – 500 ml sunflower oil
• salt, pepper to taste
• 3 bay leaves

Procedure:

1. Thaw, drain and chop the eggplants to a uniform, spread-like texture.
2. Drain the red peppers, clean away the remaining charred skin (there is always some left), rinse and drain again.
3. Run the red peppers through the grinder.
4. Chop the onions.
5. Sautée the onions in oil till glassy.
6. Add the red peppers and the seasoning and keep cooking for 15 minutes.
7. Add the eggplants and cook for another 15 minutes.
8. Spoon into sterilized hot jars and close the jars.
9. In addition, you can leave the jars in the oven for another two hours on 90 Celsius warming setting.

I love eating it on toast! Buckwheat bread toast of course, not verboten white bread.

Good luck to All and keep your glucose levels down! Keep indoors, keep safe!