Ajvar - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 1/2 lb. red, yellow, or orange bell peppers
2 red jalapeno chilies or 1/2 tsp. dried crushed red pepper (optional)
3/4 lb. eggplant
1 1/3 c. white vinegar, divided
4 c. water, divided
2 Tbsp. coarse salt, divided
2-6 garlic cloves, minced
About 2/3 c. olive oil, divided
1 1/2 tsp. paprika

Preparation

Stem, de-vein, and seed bell peppers and chilies. cut into chunks. Peel eggplant and cut crosswise into 1 inch slices. Put 2/3 c. vinegar, 2 c. water and 1 Tbsp. coarse salt in saucepan. Bring to a boil, add eggplant slices. return to boil for 5 minutes. stirring, drain while you boil peppers and chilies 5 minutes using remaining 2/3 c. vinegar, 2 c. water and 1 Tbsp. salt. drain and reserve. Sizzle garlic in 1/4 c. oil for 1 minute. Place cooked, drained eggplant and pepper mix in bowl of food processor and puree. Add 1 1/2 tsp. salt and paprika. Return sauce to pan and simmer over medium heat until thickens to dipping consistency.
This is a Serbian relish great for dip or spread on crackers. Add yogurt to make a salad dressing. Freezes well.