3 kilograms ripe red peppers
250 ml vegetable oil
2 tablespoons salt
½ tablespoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
1 small bay leaf
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
Wash and clean the peppers, remove the stems and seeds, chop them up and roughly puree them in a blender or a food processor (you want little pieces, not liquid). The peppers will release quite a bit of water so carefully drain them and put them in a very large pot you will cook your ajvar in. Add the spices and mix well, turn the stove to medium high, put the pot on and cook, stirring often, until all the liquid evaporates (I cooked it for about 45 minutes to get to that point).
When all the liquid has evaporated, add half of the oil, mix well and cook for 15 minutes, then add in the other half of the oil. From that moment, cook the ajvar for about an hour or until desired thickness, but stir it constantly, do not let it cook unattended. If it starts to bubble up too much, turn the heat down a bit and continue cooking and stirring (I cooked mine for exactly one hour).
Remove the cooked ajvar from the stove, remove the bay leaf and discard it, pour in the vinegar and stir it well. Fill the prepared jars (I got two jars, 750 grams each), seal them and let them cool down to room temperature. Store the ajvar in a cool, dark place.
Note: This ajvar is really hot, so feel free to adjust the amount of crushed red pepper flakes to your taste.
