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The second half of summer is rich in vegetables. There is so much that is not on sale - tomatoes of all colors and sizes, hot and sweet peppers, eggplants and, of course, zucchini. And all this is very inexpensive. But such a variety of tasty, healthy vegetables will not last long. When autumn comes, followed by winter, prices for imported vegetables will skyrocket. And I really want to prolong the summer abundance. An excellent way out in this situation is canning vegetables for the winter.
You can prepare almost all vegetables in various combinations. There are many recipes for various salads and marinades, but many people love caviar.
It can be made from tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, but the classic is zucchini caviar. Many people remember its taste from those Soviet times, when the range of canned food was small. Classical squash caviar from the store helped out many housewives a lot. It’s not at all difficult to prepare it at home, you can eat it right away and it’s very good - you can preserve it for the winter.
Classical squash caviar recipe consists not only of zucchini, but also of carrots, onions, spices, herbs, tomato paste, salt and sugar in precise and long-verified proportions. But housewives love experiments, so even the classic recipe has many options.
Classic squash caviar
These are the roots of celery, parsnip, parsley. You only need a small amount of them, but they radically change the taste of caviar, giving it that zest for which this simple but beloved dish was appreciated.
So, for 4 servings of caviar you will need:
- zucchini, freed from seeds and peel - 1 kg;
To achieve the desired taste, you should take fully ripe vegetables. Of course, there is more fuss with them, but they have a more pronounced taste.
- medium sized carrot;
- the same bulb;
- half a small parsley root, but the best result is if you use parsnips, cut them into small cubes and measure out one tablespoon;
- 2 tbsp. spoons of tomato paste, it must be natural, without additives, which simply could not exist according to GOST;
- a teaspoon of sugar and salt;
- For frying you will need 5 tbsp. tablespoons of vegetable oil, it is better if it is unrefined; in Soviet times there was simply no other oil on sale;
- For spices we will use pepper: allspice – 5 peas and bitter – 10 peas.
Cooking steps
Wash all the vegetables well, peel and remove the seeds from the zucchini. We cut them into half rings and fry them one by one in well-heated vegetable oil. When all the pieces of zucchini are ready, put them back in the same frying pan, add a little - 5 tbsp. spoons of water and simmer until the zucchini becomes soft.
Cut the remaining vegetables into small cubes and fry them with added oil in another frying pan. They should brown slightly. Add 3 tbsp. spoons of water. Simmer the vegetables covered over low heat until they become soft. To turn stewed vegetables into puree, you will need a meat grinder or blender.
Place the finished puree in a thick-walled bowl, add tomato paste, continue simmering, stirring, until the caviar thickens. This usually happens after about 15 minutes. Grind black and allspice peas, add it to the vegetables, add salt and season with sugar. Simmer for another 10 minutes. Cool and keep in the refrigerator for a day. Serve to the table, sprinkled with finely chopped onions or green onions.
To prepare this product for the winter, you need to take at least twice as much of all the ingredients. It’s unlikely that anyone would want to spend so much time preparing one jar of canned food. The cooking process is the same. As soon as the caviar is ready, immediately transfer it to a sterilized container and roll up the lids. If you want to ensure that the caviar does not spoil during the winter, add a teaspoon of 9% vinegar 10 minutes before it is ready. But the taste of caviar will change a little. In the factory, caviar was sterilized at a temperature of at least 110 degrees, so it was well stored and did not need the addition of vinegar.
Here's another recipe that claims to be a "classic"
Recipe No. 2
The following products are needed for it:
For 3 kg of zucchini you will need 1 kg of carrots and onions, approximately 300 ml of refined vegetable oil, 5 tbsp of wheat flour. level spoons, non-acidic tomato paste 3 tablespoons, salt and sugar 1.5 and 1 tablespoons respectively.
To give the caviar a spicy kick, you will need 8 cloves of garlic and 2 g of ground black pepper. To prevent caviar from spoiling during storage, add 2 tablespoons of 9% vinegar.
Cooking process
To prepare caviar for the winter, vegetables need to be thoroughly washed and peeled. Cut the zucchini and onion into small cubes, grate the carrots.
Divide the oil into three parts. On one we sauté the onions until soft, on the other - the carrots, the remaining oil will be needed for frying the zucchini in portions until transparent.
Grind the fried vegetables using a blender and transfer to a cauldron or thick-walled pan. Vegetables need to be cooked covered for half an hour. The fire should be small. After this, the caviar needs to be salted, peppered, seasoned with sugar and tomato paste. After stirring, cook for another 20 minutes.
Since vegetables absorb salt differently, be sure to taste the caviar and add salt or sugar if necessary.
Flour should be fried in a frying pan without adding oil until light creamy. Add it to the vegetables, pour in the vinegar and add the crushed garlic in a press; after mixing thoroughly, boil the caviar for another 5 minutes.
As soon as the caviar is ready, immediately transfer it to jars and immediately roll up the lids.
For lovers of spicier dishes, we can recommend this recipe:
Classic spicy caviar
There is no tomato paste and sugar, but a lot of hot pepper. Its sharpness is softened by a large amount of carrots. The taste of this dish is bright and rich.
For 2 kg of zucchini you will need 8 medium carrots and the same number of cloves of garlic, 4 pods of hot pepper and the same amount of onions, 8 tbsp. spoons of vegetable oil, salt is added to taste.
Preparing caviar is simple.Cut the zucchini, peeled and without seeds, into circles, finely chop the garlic and onion, grate the carrots, chop the hot pepper.
Pour vegetable oil into a bowl with thick walls, heat it, add all the vegetables, stirring, fry for 5 minutes, then simmer, adding salt and adding a little water. The vegetables should become soft. After cooling a little, turn them into puree using a blender. The resulting puree should be simmered for another 10 minutes, and packaged in dry and well-sterilized glass jars, covered with lids, sterilized for half an hour and sealed.
Properly prepared caviar for the winter according to the classic recipe can be stored in a cool place for up to 2 years, but most likely it will not be able to stand for that long. Such a tasty product will be eaten first.
