Zucchini Adjika with Tomato Paste for Winter

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   How do you make zucchini adjika with tomato paste for winter? Gather the ingredients. Any zucchini works—young or not, since you'll be grinding them up anyway. I also added bell pepper for flavor; it's not in the recipe, we just like it. The garlic for this recipe is measured by the cup, so the gram weight is approximate. Wash and dry all the vegetables first.

2. Step 2:

   

   If your zucchini are old, peel off the thick skin, then cut them open and remove the seeds. Use young zucchini as is. Run the zucchini through a meat grinder—or chop them in a blender if you don't have one.

3. Step 3:

   

   If you decide to add pepper like I did, grind that too. And the tomatoes with hot pepper, if you're using them in place of the tomato paste and ground pepper.

4. Step 4:

   

   I also went over the mixture with an immersion blender—we like a smoother adjika. But you can leave it chunky.

5. Step 5:

   

   Put the zucchini (in my case, along with the pepper) in a large cooking pot. Avoid aluminum, which can react—use enamel or stainless steel instead. Add the ground hot red pepper to the vegetables.

6. Step 6:

   

   The tomato paste.

7. Step 7:

   

   The vegetable oil (refined and neutral is best).

8. Step 8:

   

   The salt and sugar.

9. Step 9:

   

   Stir the ingredients together and set the pot on the stove over low heat. Cook the zucchini mixture at a gentle simmer for about an hour, stirring from time to time.

10. Step 10:

    

    Peel the garlic and press it through a garlic press.

11. Step 11:

    

    Put the garlic in a separate bowl.

12. Step 12:

    

    Pour the vinegar over the garlic and stir.

13. Step 13:

    

    After the hour of cooking, add the garlic-and-vinegar mixture to the adjika. Stir and boil for another 10 minutes.

14. Step 14:

    

    Sterilize the jars and lids however you like. I heat mine in the oven. See the link at the bottom of the recipe for other methods.

15. Step 15:

    

    Spoon the hot adjika into the jars.

16. Step 16:

    

    Fill them right to the top. Seal the jars immediately with the prepared lids.

17. Step 17:

    

    Turn the jars upside down—this gives the lids an extra round of sterilizing.

18. Step 18:

    

    Wrap the jars in something warm and leave them that way until completely cool.

19. Step 19:

    

    Your zucchini adjika is ready. It keeps at room temperature. Enjoy!