Kyopolou: Bulgarian Eggplant Pepper Tomato Spread

Step-by-step recipe

1. Given how widespread dishes like kyopolou are, the caviar hardly has a clear, single recipe. From region to region, and even from cook to cook, the variations can be quite noticeable. Only the eggplants never change: young, dark, with glossy skin and, preferably, barely formed seeds. Besides the usual variations, additions of nuts, herbs, cheese or brynza, and various vegetables, most often carrot and onion, are quite common.
   
2. The preparation stage involves baking the eggplants and peppers. Ideally, bake the vegetables over coals or an open flame until charred, then peel them. That makes the dish uniquely tasty and aromatic. In a city kitchen you can bake the vegetables in the oven. Brush the eggplants and peppers with a little vegetable oil, then bake at 180-200°C until done. The eggplants and peppers should become soft and wrinkled.
   
3. After baking, be sure to put the peppers in an airtight plastic bag until cool, then peel off the outer skin, which comes off beautifully. Peppers for stuffing are baked in just the same way. Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise and scrape out the flesh; throw the skin away. Chop the peeled pepper and eggplant flesh very finely with a knife. Don't use a blender, or you'll get mush.
4. Scald very ripe tomatoes with boiling water and remove the seeds. Purée the tomato flesh in a blender. If you like spicy appetizers, add a clove of garlic and 1-2 peeled hot peppers to the tomatoes. Note that garlic and hot pepper will be added to the dish again at the final stage.
5. Heat the vegetable oil in a saucepan and fry the mixture of chopped baked eggplant and pepper flesh in it. Fry over medium heat, stirring fairly often, for 5-6 mins.
   
6. Pour the tomato purée, or tomato purée with garlic and hot pepper, into the fried pepper and eggplant mixture. Stir; if the mixture is very thick, add a little water, no more than 0.5 cup. Once it comes to the boil, cover the saucepan with a lid and let the caviar simmer over low heat for 10 mins.
   
7. Peel the remaining garlic and hot pepper and chop very finely with a knife. Don't grate them, or the garlic will release juice and turn mushy during further cooking. Add the chopped garlic and hot pepper to the saucepan, with 1-2 tsp of sugar (to taste), salt, dried savory, ground fenugreek and just a tiny bit of wine vinegar, no more than 0.5 tsp. The vinegar should give a barely perceptible tang. If the tomatoes have given the dish enough acidity, you can do without the wine vinegar.
   
8. Instead of savory and fenugreek, you can use the traditional Bulgarian spice blends “trapezna chubritsa” and “sharena sol”. They contain all the necessary ingredients and give the dish the inimitable flavour typical of many Bulgarian dishes. These blends are easy to make at home from simple spices.
9. Stir the caviar thoroughly and simmer over low heat under a lid for another 10 mins. In the end the appetizer should be quite thick, with no obvious free liquid. If there is liquid, take the lid off the saucepan and let it evaporate.
   
10. From here there are options. Cookbooks usually recommend blending it after it cools, or even rubbing it through a sieve. Frankly, I didn't like that. I prefer the caviar to consist of very small but noticeable pieces of vegetables, ideally with bits of garlic and hot pepper and even leftover pepper and eggplant seeds.
11. How you proceed is up to you. In any case, kyopolou must be chilled; the caviar is tastiest when very well chilled.
    
12. How you serve the appetizer is a field for imagination. Serve it on its own with fresh bread, or spread it on sandwiches.
    
13. A large platter with all kinds of sliced meats and vegetables, fresh herbs, baked peppers and a mound of eggplant caviar looks very impressive on the table. This eggplant caviar goes wonderfully with black olives and fresh brined brynza.