Preparing “Lyutenitsa” is a tradition in Bulgarian cuisine – there are thousands of recipes! The main vegetables in the recipes are red sweet peppers and red tomatoes, adding other vegetables in small quantities – onions, garlic, carrots, pumpkin, eggplant. In the village, in every house, lyutenitsa is prepared according to a secret family recipe, which is passed down from mother to daughter.

It’s the same with us – we have a recipe for making lyutenitsa from my grandmother. We gathered the whole family on the day of making lyutenitsa, because it was a long process – washing and removing stems and seeds, boiling peppers and removing the skins, boiling carrots, grinding tomatoes and onions, boiled carrots and peppers. Then everything was put in a large pan and boiled on fire, salt and sugar were added, and finally fried in sunflower oil.

When my husband Danail and I started following the path of healthy eating, we had to change many things in our diet, as well as a lot of our family winter recipes. I wanted the recipes to be healthy, but also quick to prepare! And so I came up with the recipe for “Baked Lyutenitsa” – I use vegetables grown in our garden. The main vegetables are red tomatoes and red sweet peppers roasted in the oven. I add roasted carrots and roasted pumpkin, which give enough sweetness and no need to add extra sugar. Since all the vegetables are roasted, I just puree them and do not add vegetable oil. That’s how I get the perfect lyutenitsa – healthy, low-calorie, vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free and vegetable oil free.

Baked Lyutenitsa

Course: Food in jars, Recipes

Количество

8000

грама

Подготовка

hours

Готвене

hours

Калории

2029.90

ккал

Tomato sauce with peppers

INGREDIENTS

5500 g red tomatoes
2250 g red peppers
800 g Balka pumpkin pieces
can be replaced with another sweet pumpkin
750 g carrots
35 g parsley leaves
80 g Himalayan pink salt
can be replaced with any other salt
– 16 glass jars with a capacity of 500 ml
– 16 metal caps for the jars
– a large pot with a lid for boiling the jars

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

I wash the peppers and drain them, remove the stalks with the seeds and wash the inside of the peppers to remove the remaining seeds. I baked the peppers in parts on a rack in a heated oven at 220°C with a fan for 10 minutes each part. I take the roasted peppers out of the oven and put them in a pot with a lid, leave them aside to cool. Carefully I peel the skin off the roasted peppers and cut them into pieces.
I wash the tomatoes and remove the stem with a sharp knife. I arrange the tomatoes with the cut side up in a tray close to each other. I baked the tomatoes in a heated oven at 220°C with a fan for 15 minutes per tray. I take the tray with the roasted tomatoes out of the oven and leave it aside to cool for 5 minutes. I carefully remove the skin from the roasted tomatoes.
I wash the pumpkin and cut it into several pieces, remove the seeds and peel the skin. I cut the pumpkin into small pieces, arrange in a tray and bake in a heated oven at 220°C with a fan for 15 minutes or until the pieces soften. I take the pan out of the oven and leave it aside to cool.
I wash the carrots and cut them into small pieces, arrange them in a tray and bake in a heated oven at 220°C with a fan for 15 minutes or until the pieces soften. I take the pan out of the oven and leave it aside to cool.
I wash the parsley leaves and let them drain. I cut the leaves with a sharp small knife. I wash the glass jars together with the caps and let them drain.
In a large pan, I put all the roasted vegetables, add the chopped parsley leaves and the salt. With an electric blender, I puree the vegetables until a smooth sauce is obtained.
I fill the jars with the finished sauce and close tightly with the caps. I arrange the jars in a large pot with a lid, fill with a sufficient amount of water – 7 cm above the jars. I put the pot on the stove, turn on the highest level of heat. When the water starts to boil, I wait for it to boil for 10 minutes and then turn off the heat. I let the pot with the jars cool completely.
I take the jars out of the pot and dry them. I arrange the jars in the basement – it is good for the jars to age for 1 month to get a good taste.