Pork strips, colorful vegetables, mushrooms, tomato paste, and Balkan ajvar create a thick, spicy mixture that sits perfectly on crispy garlic toasts. It’s ideal as a hearty dinner, a treat for friends, or a snack with a cold beer.
This recipe relies on thoroughly searing the meat and briefly sautéing the tomato paste with ajvar, which gives the mix a deeper, slightly smoky, and sweet-sour flavor. Add the vegetables only at the end so they stay a bit crunchy. You can use mild or spicy ajvar to taste, and fry the toasts in lard or make them dry.
What You’ll Need
For the Meat and Vegetable Mix:
- 500 g pork – leg, shoulder, or tenderloin,
- 1 white onion,
- 1 red onion,
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste,
- 2–3 tablespoons ajvar – mild or spicy,
- 3–4 cloves fresh garlic,
- 150 g fresh mushrooms,
- 1/2 small zucchini,
- 1 red bell pepper,
- 1 green or yellow bell pepper,
- 2 ripe tomatoes,
- 150–200 ml beef or meat broth,
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch or plain flour,
- a bit of cold water for mixing the thickener,
- vegetable oil for sautéing,
- salt to taste,
- freshly ground black pepper to taste.
For the Garlic Toasts and Finishing:
- day-old bread, sliced,
- pork lard or oil for frying, or a toaster if preferred,
- several cloves of garlic for rubbing,
- optional: a bit of olive oil for drizzling on dry-toasted bread,
- optional: grated Edam or Gouda cheese,
- optional: spring onion, sliced into rings.
The original recipe does not specify exact amounts of bread, fat, garnish, or optional spicy ingredients, so adjust according to the number of servings and your taste.
Step-by-Step Preparation:
1. Preparing the Meat and Vegetables: Clean the pork and cut it into thin, evenly sized strips with a sharp knife. Finely chop both onions, slice the mushrooms, cut the peppers into strips, and dice the zucchini and tomatoes.
2. Sautéing the Onion and Meat: Heat enough vegetable oil in a deep pan or wok. Slowly sauté the white and red onions until golden, add the pork strips, and sear them quickly on high heat so they brown and start to caramelize. Season the mix with salt and pepper.
3. Adding Tomato Paste and Ajvar: Add pressed garlic, 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, and 2–3 tablespoons of ajvar to the browned meat. Mix everything well and let it sizzle in the hot fat for about 1 minute so the paste loses its raw taste and the ajvar releases its aroma.
4. Stewing the Meat: Pour in 150–200 ml of beef or meat broth and cover the pan with a lid. Stew the meat until almost tender, about 15–20 minutes depending on the cut.
5. Adding the Vegetables: Add the mushroom slices, pepper strips, diced zucchini, and chopped tomatoes to the nearly tender meat. Stir and cook together for just 7–10 minutes. The vegetables should remain slightly crunchy.
6. Thickening the Mix: Mix 1 teaspoon of cornstarch or plain flour with a little cold water. Pour the mixture into the pan, stir thoroughly, and cook for about 1 minute until you get a thick, glossy ragout that won’t run off the toasts.
7. Frying the Toasts: In a separate pan, heat pork lard or oil and fry the slices of day-old bread on both sides until golden. Place the finished toasts on a paper towel to absorb excess fat and rub them well with a cut clove of garlic while still hot.
8. Serving: Place the garlic toasts on plates and top each with a generous portion of the hot meat and vegetable mix. Sprinkle with grated Edam or Gouda cheese or garnish with spring onion rings to taste. Serve immediately while the bread is still crispy.
How to Keep Vegetables Slightly Crunchy
Mushrooms, peppers, zucchini, and tomatoes are added only when the meat is almost tender. Cooking them together for 7–10 minutes is enough to heat and soften them, but also helps retain a pleasant texture. Cooking too long would make the vegetables mushy and the mix watery.
How to Make a Mix That Stays on the Toast
Always mix cornstarch or flour with a bit of cold water first to avoid lumps in the mix. After adding, let the sauce cook for about a minute. The result should be a thick, glossy ragout that can be easily layered on bread.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ajvar is a traditional Balkan vegetable spread made primarily from roasted red peppers, eggplants, garlic, and oil. It is commonly found in the international foods section. If we don’t have it, we can use finely chopped ratatouille or Uncle Ben’s spicy sauce, but the resulting flavor will be different.
Yes, we can use chicken or turkey breasts, or boneless thighs cut into strips. Poultry cooks faster, so we add the vegetables almost immediately after it is seared, to ensure everything cooks simultaneously and the meat doesn’t dry out.
