Roasted sweet pepper spread

1 HOUR | SERVES 4 AS A STARTER | EASY |

My parents sold ajvar, a Slavic sweet pepper and aubergine spread, at their deli, and the Eastern European immigrants of Portland would buy the jars in bulk. I was always very curious about the bright, reddishorange paste, but I never actually tried it until I went to Croatia, where it was absolutely everywhere. When I took my first spoonful, I completely understood what the fuss was about. A smooth, creamy blend of caramelised sweet peppers, savoury garlic and rich olive oil hit me full force, and it was love at first bite. I became so obsessed with the sweet pepper flavour that I ended up omitting the aubergine entirely in my subsequent versions of the dish, and so it has just become a simple but very delicious sweet pepper spread. red peppers 900g (about 8 small) onion 1 large, cut into wedges extra-virgin olive oil 1 tbsp garlic 3 cloves, crushed sea salt flakes 1Ω tsp paprika Ω tsp caster sugar Ω tsp black peppercorns crushed to make º tsp bread or crackers to serve

• Heat the oven to 230C/fan 210C/gas 8.

• Lightly brush the peppers and onion with the oil and put them on a baking tray. Roast for 30-40 minutes (turning the peppers halfway through) or until the pepper skins are very soft and are lightly charred, and the onion slices turn golden brown around the edges. Cool, then peel and discard the skins, stems and seeds from the peppers.

• Put the peppers, onion, garlic, salt, paprika, sugar and black pepper into a food processor or blender and whizz until completely smooth. Serve with bread or crackers.

• Will keep for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container in the fridge.