Holiday recipes with ajvar have been our main preoccupation these days. We’ve tried a lot of them, and made a top selection for you.
The holidays are approaching, bringing with them all those gorgeous warm and cold aromatic mouthfuls, soft, fragrant pastries and juicy, oven roasted meats with crispy skin. For us of course, in all those recipes, ajvar is the favorite ingredient that sets off all those beautiful flavors with it’s rich, full aroma, making them even more beautiful to the eye and the palate alike.
Ajvar, and we mean the genuine stuff, made from only four ingredients: roast red peppers of the Kurtovska Kapija sort with just a bit of oil, salt and vinegar added, is unmatched in a holiday feast. And not just as a side dish, but as one of the main ingredients, this being one of many reasons we love it so much.
We’ve tested and selected some of the best holiday recipes with ajvar for you, from quick and effective last minute ones, to those that will reward the time and effort you invest with both supreme taste, and appearance.
For those of you looking for a last minute idea, or if you simply don’t like to spend too much time in the kitchen cooking holiday dishes, we’ve whipped up some quick and divine tasting Puff pastry stars with kajmak and ajvar. The best part about them is that they can be served both warm and cold. We couldn’t decide which version we liked better. Make sure to include the youngest members of the family in the preparation, they will definitely enjoy making these playful stars.
Another quick idea for a luscious looking and even more luscious tasting warm snack are gluten-free Vegan polenta canapes with herbs, chickpeas and ajvar. They are exceptionally simple to make, and the crunchy chickpeas coated in turmeric and sweet chilly, served over irresistible ajvar on aromatic polenta, make for a memorable mouthful.
Another version of polenta appetizer, Polenta canapes with herbs, rolled tenderloin and ajvar , is dedicated to all the lovers of meat and spicy flavors. We’ve infused polenta with thyme, one of our favorite spices, then coated it in the irresistible mix of turmeric and sweet chilly. On each mouthful of polenta we’ve put a teaspoon of ajvar and topped it with juicy tenderloin bits wrapped in delicious pancetta. This dish is an example of how a few full, simple tastes set off by a spice or two, are often the best ones.
And finally, we’ve played with tastes and shapes with these fantastic, melt-in-your-mouth, can’t-get-enough-of, Salty pie crust cookies with walnuts and ajvar. You can decorate them in as many ways as you can think of, just let your imagination run free, and enjoy.
The recipe we highly recommend you try is Brioche Holiday Bread we deem a true rhapsody of fine, puffy pastry that is an irresistible match to full, rich aromas of real ajvar. We’ve used the classic recipe, but don’t let the length of the preparations intimidate you. It’s way more simple than it sounds, trust us.
Vegan holiday puff pastry pie with aromatic ajvar stuffing is another recommendation of ours that we know will win you over instantly. Gorgeous crunchy puff pastry filled with aromatic stuffing of fragrant mushrooms, lentils and slightly smokey aroma of genuine ajvar is a real treat for the eyes and palate alike.
And finally, a real gourmet treat for all the meat lovers, juicy Rolled pork with spicy ajvar stuffing, filled with amazing combination of walnuts and ajvar, all wrapped in crunchy pancetta crust, fragrant with rosemary.
We hope that among all these proposals you will find a recipe or inspiration to make simple, but supreme holiday snacks with good, real ajvar. For as we have so often concluded ourselves, simple and pure tastes prepared with lots of dedication and love are the most beautiful ones. That’s why we love ajvar so much. With its unrivaled taste of only four ingredients, it turns each of these dishes into a real gourmet pleasure that we strongly recommend you to try this season.
We wish you joyful and happy holidays, successful cooking and lots of indulgence in good tastes.
