Zacusca with Mushrooms (Romanian Vegetable Spread)
Fasting Recipes Vegetables Pickles and Canned Romanian Mushrooms
As I told you, I don't make zacusca because my back can't handle standing by the stove for so many hours, and with today's recipe I can't even brag that I helped even a little. I had planned a trip to my mom's to offer you this recipe step by step in pictures, but you know how it goes... I'm in Cluj, she's in Salaj, all sorts of problems come up and I didn't make it... But the instructions are very clear, the recipe is guaranteed to be good, and makes an excellent zacusca.
And the color!!! That's what I love about all types of my mom's zacusca - it's a bright orange, exactly as you see in the photo, no tricks 😊
And the taste - I can recognize it anytime. Last year, my mom thought she could fool us. She didn't have time to preserve things for winter, so she didn't make zacusca either. In the middle of winter, she asked what she should send us (yes I know... she still sends packages even though I have a food blog) and I said "ZACUSCA!!!!" A few days later the package arrives with eggplant and bean zacusca. My brother and I open a jar of eggplant, spread it on bread, bite and... bleghh... "WHAT IS THIS?" we screamed together. Radu appears and asks what happened. We tell him the zacusca is spoiled, sometimes jars let in air and go sour. He opens another jar, we make more toast and... bleghh again... Radu was eating calmly and looking at us bewildered - the zacusca was good according to him. And then we realized: It's not mom's zacusca, it's as clear as day! We called her and asked about the zacusca, where she got it, and she had to admit she didn't make any and didn't want to disappoint us, so she got some from a friend.
The moral? No zacusca is like mom's - you probably all say that, right? Still, I say it's worth trying this recipe. It really is the best! 😋
The recipe is the same for eggplant zacusca and bean zacusca... in case you don't like mushrooms.
- Bean zacusca: use 2kg cooked beans instead of mushrooms but leave them whole, don't grind them. Add them at the same time as mushrooms (step 6 below). You should also add 3-4 bay leaves when sautéing the peppers.
- Eggplant zacusca: use 12 large beautiful eggplants that you roast and peel using this method. Put them through a meat grinder. Add them at the same time as mushrooms (step 6 below).
Ingredients
30 red bell peppers (gogosari type)
20 yellow bell peppers
1-2 hot peppers (to taste)
12 onions
1 liter oil
1 liter tomato paste
2kg canned mushrooms or 3kg fresh mushrooms (preferably porcini)
3 tablespoons salt
Yield: 15-16 jars of 400ml
How to prepare zacusca with mushrooms (romanian vegetable spread)
- Put all vegetables through a meat grinder, but keep them in separate containers since they won't be sautéed at the same time. Place the red peppers in a strainer over a bowl to collect the juice.
- - For canned mushrooms: drain them well, then put through the grinder.
- For fresh mushrooms: put them in a pot, cover with water, and bring to a good boil; drain, rinse under running water to clean well, then cut into large pieces; put them in a pot with oil and sauté until the water evaporates. Then place them in a strainer to drain the oil; put through the meat grinder. - In a large wide pot, heat the oil and add the onion and salt. Sauté until very soft, about 10 minutes. Stir constantly over medium heat.
- Add the yellow peppers, hot peppers, and red peppers over the onion and sauté until they're very soft. Heat should be medium to low and you must stir constantly. A sign they're ready is when oil starts collecting on top. Takes about 40-50 minutes.
- Add the collected pepper juice and tomato paste (heat them first so you don't stop the zacusca from boiling!!!!). Let simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add the ground mushrooms. Cook for about 20 more minutes and don't forget to keep stirring. During this time, cool a little zacusca, taste it, and add more salt if needed.
- Sterilize jars in the oven (at 200°C) for 20 minutes. While they're hot, fill them with zacusca. Run a spoon through each jar so no air pockets remain. Place an aspirin on top (this prevents mold) and then seal the jars. Leave to cool under a blanket overnight. Store in a cool place.
Zacusca with Mushrooms (Romanian Vegetable Spread)
