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Good housewives will definitely make sure that among the preparations for the winter there are not only various salads, pickles, snacks and concentrates for cooking first and second courses, but also seasonings, with which you can significantly diversify the table in winter and saturate it with much-needed spicy and spicy aromas.
One of the most famous and loved by many seasonings is adjika. But the real Caucasian adjika is traditionally distinguished by such sharpness, thanks to the use of different peppers, that not every person will like. But its spicy aroma cannot but attract the attention of gourmets. This problem has been solved for quite a long time. culinary specialists, inexhaustible in invention, came up with the idea of adding a lot of neutral components to adjika, which would soften the sharpness and bitterness of the traditional seasoning. So, adjika from zucchini with apples for the winter was born. This blank has several varieties, and this article will be devoted to such adjika.
Adjika: its composition and properties
Adjika, as a seasoning, appeared in the Caucasus in Abkhazia, and translated from the local language, the word means “spicy salt” or “salt ground with spices.”
There is a legend that adjika was invented by shepherds grazing herds of sheep in the mountains. The owners of the sheep supplied them with salt, which was intended for animals, so that they, in an attempt to quench their thirst, consumed more grass and thereby gained weight faster, bringing more benefits to their owners. Salt in those days was expensive, and so that the shepherds would not steal it, hot peppers and other spices were added to it, hoping to scare people away. But it turned out exactly the opposite – the shepherds added an even greater amount of various grated dry herbs to salt and pepper, and over time it turned into a seasoning called adjika, without which it is now difficult to imagine the table of any representative of the Caucasian peoples.
Adjika traditionally includes many components, but coarse salt, red hot pepper, coriander seeds, dry garlic, dill and suneli hops are essential components.
The color of adjika is determined by its composition and can be red, orange, brown or green, depending on the color of the pepper and other spices used. It is able to give dishes a special taste and aroma: spicy, spicy and bittersweet.
Traditional recipe for adjika from zucchini with apples
This recipe is intended for lovers of classic adjika, who, due to certain stomach problems, can no longer cope with its spiciness, or simply for lovers of spicy, but at the same time delicate dishes. In addition, the resulting dish can no longer be called a seasoning – rather, it turns into a light independent snack that carries all the aromas of fragrant summer heat.
To get started, try to find, thoroughly rinse and dry the following ingredients:
- Zucchini – about 5 kg;
- Carrots, bell peppers and apples with sourness – each 1 kg;
- Garlic – 200 g No.
- Hot red pepper – 10-15 pieces;
- Greens to your taste, but it is desirable that at least 50 grams of dill, cilantro, basil, coriander seeds, parsley be present.
These components must be found:
- Vegetable oil – 500 ml;
- Table (and preferably apple) vinegar – 200 ml;
- Sugar – 200 ml;
- Coarse salt, preferably rock salt – 5 tbsp. spoons.
To prepare adjika for the winter, it is necessary to remove the skin from zucchini, apples and carrots. For sweet and hot peppers and apples, additionally remove the core and tails. Peel carrots and garlic. Rinse and dry the greens well, removing all dry and spoiled parts.
Cut all prepared vegetables and apples into such pieces that it is convenient to pass them through a meat grinder. Starting with zucchini, grind all the pieces of vegetables with a meat grinder. Grind the zucchini into a separate bowl and while you pass the rest of the vegetables through the meat grinder, put the ground zucchini in a colander and let the excess juice drain a little. This technique will help make adjika more magnificent.
Chop the greens very finely with a sharp knife.
It is the meat grinder that is able to create from vegetables and apples the most suitable consistency for adjika with occasional small pieces.
Mix the resulting vegetable mass with sugar, salt and oil, place over medium heat and bring to a boil. Then simmer for 30-40 minutes from time to time, stirring the mixture with a wooden spatula.
At the same time, start sterilizing jars with lids at this point.
Add vinegar to adjika and keep on low heat for at least another five minutes.
Immediately put the hot adjika into small sterilized jars, roll up and, turning the jars upside down, wrap them with a blanket.
Ready-made seasoning can be stored for storage only the next day, protecting adjika, if possible, from exposure to bright light.
Adjika from zucchini with apples and tomatoes
The composition of the traditional Caucasian adjika never included tomatoes, and its red color was determined only by red hot and sometimes sweet peppers. In Our Country, for many years it has been customary to cook adjika using tomatoes to soften its sharpness and bitterness. Therefore, the recipe for adjika from zucchini with apples, which also includes tomatoes, is especially popular.
To make adjika according to this recipe, prepare the following ingredients:
- Zucchini – 2 kg;
- Bulgarian pepper – 0,4 kg;
- Tomatoes – 0,5 kg;
- Carrots – 0,3 kg;
- Sour apples (Antonovka type) – 0,3 kg;
- Hot red pepper – 2 pieces;
- Garlic – one head;
- Cilantro, purple basil, dill and parsley – 50 grams of each herb;
- Sugar – 2 large spoons;
- Salt – 3 teaspoons;
- Table vinegar 9% – 100 ml;
- Vegetable oil (preferably olive) – 100 ml;
- Optionally – ground black pepper.
All vegetables, herbs and apples are thoroughly washed, dried, freed from excess parts and cut into pieces suitable for processing with a meat grinder.
To begin with, all cooked vegetables, herbs and apples are ground using a meat grinder.
All spices, salt, sugar and butter are added to chopped vegetables with apples.
In the future, adjika according to this recipe can be cooked both in a cauldron with a thick bottom, and in a slow cooker.
If you have a slow cooker, then all the products are transferred to the bowl, vinegar is added to them, everything is mixed well. Then the lid closes and the “Extinguishing” mode is activated for 1 hour. After the beep sounds, the adjika is ready, it can be laid out in jars.
If there is no multicooker, then the ground products are placed in a bowl with a thick bottom and stewed for about 40-50 minutes. At the end, vinegar is added to them, and the whole mixture is heated for another 10 minutes.
Ready hot adjika must be quickly decomposed into sterilized jars, rolled up and wrapped. Adjika prepared according to this recipe can be stored even in a regular kitchen cabinet.
Try to cook adjika according to one of the recipes described above, and you cannot help but appreciate the combination of the neutral taste of zucchini with the sharpness of pepper, the sourness of apples and the piquancy of green aromatic herbs. All this together creates an incomparable, amazing taste with which you can surprise not only your family members, but also guests at the festive table. Adjika goes especially well with fried meat and potatoes.
