My Zacusca
Ingredients: 5 kg beautiful eggplants, 4 kg bell peppers (I used red bell peppers as I can't find any here), 2 kg onions, 2 kg less juicy tomatoes (you can use a bit more if you prefer a redder zacusca), salt to taste (I added 3 smaller soup spoons), 6-7 bay leaves, chopped, 1 tablespoon of whole pepper, 250-300 ml oil.
To prepare a delicious zacusca, we need quality ingredients. We start by choosing beautiful, medium-sized eggplants that do not have many seeds, as the seeds can influence the final texture of the dish. It is important that the eggplants are firm, without soft spots or rot. We continue with the selection of onions, which must be fresh and without cuts or damage. The bell peppers should be uniform and meaty, and if we opt for red peppers, it is essential to choose those with thick flesh; otherwise, after roasting and peeling, we waste a lot of quantity. As for the tomatoes, it is recommended to use sweet varieties with few seeds, such as the Roma variety, which contains less juice. The meatier the tomatoes are and the less liquid they have, the shorter the boiling time will be, which is an advantage.
Once the ingredients are prepared, we take care of roasting them. We spread a baking tray on a grill in the yard or on the burners of the stove if we have a model with flames. Grilling gives the vegetables a distinctive smoky flavor that we won’t get if we choose the oven. If we decide to roast the eggplants and bell peppers in the stove oven, we must expect that they will be more boiled than fried, and the flavors will be less intense.
After the vegetables are roasted, the eggplants are placed in a larger dish, layered, while the bell peppers are arranged in another container, sprinkling them with coarse salt to facilitate peeling. Once cooled, we will start the peeling process, carefully removing the skins. The onion is finely chopped and sautéed in the oil from the recipe until golden and fragrant. The tomatoes are peeled, and the seeds must be removed to prevent the zacusca from fermenting. The roasted vegetables can be finely chopped by hand or, for a quicker process, ground with a meat grinder.
After obtaining a homogeneous paste from eggplants, bell peppers, and tomatoes, we mix it with the sautéed onion and add salt, being careful not to add too much, as the zacusca can be adjusted later. Crushed peppercorns and bay leaves will add extra flavor. The resulting mixture is transferred to a pot that we place on the bottom grill of the oven. The ideal temperature is 190°C, and from time to time, it is recommended to stir to avoid forming a crust or smoking the zacusca.
If you choose to prepare the zacusca on the stove, it is vital to stir constantly, as you risk it sticking to the bottom of the pot, and splashes of zacusca will be inevitable. The process in the oven takes longer but spares us from subsequent cleaning. When the zacusca becomes denser and the oil starts to surface, it is a sign that it is ready. Before taking it out of the oven, it is good to taste a little of the mixture, and if necessary, we can adjust the taste with salt. After adding the salt, we let the zacusca boil for another 5 minutes, then transfer it to sterilized jars. The jars are sealed and placed upside down until completely cooled, after which they are stored in the pantry, ready to be enjoyed as desired.
