Sweet Adjika for Winter

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   How do you make sweet adjika for winter? Gather your ingredients. This preserve is healthier and tastier when it's made at harvest time with produce from your own garden — plus it costs much less that way. Use ripe, firm vegetables with no signs of spoilage. Wash them well beforehand and pat them dry. Use a neutral, odorless oil. Table vinegar, 9%.

2. Step 2:

   

   Cut the tomatoes into quarters and cut out the stem end. Then cut the tomatoes into pieces.

3. Step 3:

   

   Remove the stem and seeds from the bell peppers. Cut the peppers into large pieces.

4. Step 4:

   

   Peel the carrots and cut them into large rounds.

5. Step 5:

   

   Rinse the fresh parsley and dill thoroughly under running water, pat them dry with a paper towel, and chop finely. I wanted to give the adjika a little kick, so I added just a bit of hot pepper and horseradish. You can use ground hot pepper or a small piece of a fresh chile. The horseradish can also go in crushed or ground, or as a few small pieces of fresh root.

6. Step 6:

   

   Peel the garlic cloves and chop them finely.

7. Step 7:

   

   Peel the onions and cut them into large pieces or rounds.

8. Step 8:

   

   Using a meat grinder, blender, or food processor, grind all the vegetables (except the garlic) into a smooth mass. Put the vegetable purée in a pot and set it over the heat. Add the sugar, salt, and vegetable oil. Bring it to a boil, turn the heat down to low, and simmer the adjika for 2 hours, stirring it now and then with a spatula. Then pour in the vinegar, add the chopped garlic, and simmer for about 20 minutes more.

9. Step 9:

   

   While the adjika cooks, get your jars ready. Wash the jars with baking soda and sterilize them one of the usual ways: over a water bath, in the oven, or in the microwave. Wash and boil the lids, or sterilize them along with the jars in the oven.

10. Step 10:

    

    Spoon the finished adjika into sterile jars and seal them right away. This preserve needs no extra sterilizing — the horseradish in it is a great natural preservative and keeps the adjika from spoiling. Let it cool under a blanket, then move it to the pantry for storage. Enjoy!