Today I'm bringing you a recipe for delicious and wholesome zucchini caviar. Even though I make this type of dish fairly often, this time I wanted to make a version of zucchini caviar as close as possible to what you'd find in stores — the kind that was around back in the Soviet days. So I had to dig into how this zucchini caviar was made according to the official standard. As it turns out, very little onion and carrots are used — for a whole kilogram of zucchini, you use even less than half an onion and half a carrot. Makes sense, since we're making zucchini caviar, not a mixed vegetable spread. On the other hand, quite a lot of tomato paste goes in — that's exactly what gives it that distinctive store-bought flavor. The zucchini needs to be fried in oil, not just braised, so don't skip that step — the flavor really does turn out different, and don't be stingy with the oil for frying. Well, those are all the little secrets. The flavor really did come out remarkably close to store-bought zucchini caviar, and my husband — my biggest skeptic — admitted that yes, this is the real thing!
Ingredients:
- 1 kg zucchini
- 80 g tomato paste
- 50 g carrots
- 50 g onion
- 5 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- black peppercorns (5 pieces)
- allspice berries (5 pieces)
How to cook zucchini caviar
Cut the zucchini into small cubes. I used young zucchini, but if yours aren't as young, be sure to peel them and scoop out the seeds. Heat about a quarter of the vegetable oil in a skillet. Add about a third of the zucchini.
Fry, stirring occasionally, until the zucchini turns more translucent and gets lightly browned in spots. Transfer to a large container that you'll use for blending later. Fry the second and third batches of zucchini the same way, adding more oil as needed.
Return the zucchini to the skillet with the onion and carrots. Add the tomato paste, sugar, and salt (I used a slightly heaping teaspoon).
Stir everything together well, then simmer over low heat with the lid on for about 20 minutes, or until everything is completely soft and the excess liquid has cooked off. At the end, season with both types of pepper (grind them first using whatever method works for you).
Transfer the contents of the skillet to a container and blend thoroughly (!) with an immersion blender. Adjust salt and pepper to taste if needed. If the caviar isn't thick enough, return it to the skillet and simmer until the excess moisture evaporates. Mine turned out perfectly as is, so I skipped this step. Let the finished caviar cool completely — it's much tastier served cold.
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