Gogosari Peppers

[ContainerTed]

In Romania, there's a traditional pepper/tomato dish called "Zacuska" or "Zacusca". It is made from gogosari peppers and must have the correct pepper to be authentic. Last year I read a post on another forum by Scott ....... who was trying to make authentic zacuska for his college friend Mihael. I was in the middle of a trade with Geza who is in Hungary and with Geza being geographically close, I ask him if he knew of a pepper called gogosari. He replied that he did and I asked him to send me some seed as part of our trade. I gave half of the seed to Scott so he could make authentic zacuska for his friend.

I planted this pepper this year and this is the result. It is a wonderful pepper that tastes good fresh or cooked. Thick walled and sweet, it will add to any of your recipes. Thought you folks would like to see one. I can't find this pepper at any of the usual seed selling sites.

Did I save seeds??? I always save seeds.

Ted

[mdvpc]

Ted-Great looking pepper-I love sweet peppers. I have picked so many in the last 2 weeks that my wife and I are burned out on them! Or at least, she is!

[remy]

Very yummy looking! They look similar to Pimento Cheese peppers.
Remy

[Blueaussi]

It does look like a pimento. Pimento peppers are usually great eaters.

[Barbee]

I love the looks of that. And the story is pretty neat, too.

[VGary]

Ted, I saw your post on the Gogosari Peppers on another gardening site and am providing the following information. Remy, You may find it of interest as well. The Romanian dish uses the Gogosari Pepper and the other ingredients are available.
Enjoy!
Gary

Romanian Zacusa -- made with Gogosari Peppers. These are similar to Pimento Peppers.
A traditional vegetable spread found in Romania (probably in other neighboring countries as well). It is delicious on crust bread or even as a topping on rice for a quickie vegetarian meal. It is also excellent as a sandwich spread. This recipe is for a large batch intended for canning. You can cut it back if you want a smaller batch for immediate consumption.
http://www.recipezaar.com/Romanian-Zacusca-276662


ZAKUSKA. Zakuska is a Russian term used for an assortment of cold or hot appetizer dishes consumed
http://www.saunalahti.fi/~marian1/gourmet/zakuska.htm

Eggplant and Pepper Spread South Carolina Style and other recipes for the Zakuska
http://susanslack.thestateonline.com/?p=765

[Andrey_BY]

Ted,

there is a Gogoshari (Russian spelling of Gogosari) sweet pepper of Moldovan origin as well. It has the same flat shape as Romanian Gogosari. There is also a Novogogoshari sweet pepper which is an improved version of Gogoshari. Actually Moldovan and Romanian people are from the same ethnos.

And we also have the word "zakuska" in Russian language (means "appetizer" or "snack") to identify all the meals one can eat together with main dishes or drinks.

And of course I should mention a Novogogoshari tomato which is a stuffing type tomato with striped skin.

[ContainerTed]

Hey, Andrey. The ones I got from Geza were a full unopened commercial packet. The lettering was all Romanian and the packet colors were white background with green and black lettering.

I actually asked for the seeds to help out a guy on another forum. Scott was trying to cook Zacusca for an friend from Romania. After several tries with our local peppers, he asked if anyone had any other ideas. I googled zagusca and gogosari and finally saw what he was trying to make. It seems most cooks in that area of the world have their own recipe. But the gentleman kept saying the peppers were just not right.

I was also in the middle of a trade with Geza. So I ask him if he knew of a pepper from that area that might be better. He said he did and we worked it into the trade. The packet had about 45 seeds in it. I kept 20 and sent the others (including the packet) on to Scott who was trying to make authentic zacusca for his friend. The gentleman says they "look" better, but he'll let us know when he gets to the tasting part.

Yeah, I like to do things like this.

And, Andrey, those Apelsin peppers you sent are the most beautiful "Tennessee Orange" color.

Ted

[Wi-sunflower]

I looked at the recipe and it's very similar to a Serbian dish that I love called Ivar. I don't know if that spelling is right tho.

A Serbian restaurant near where I grew up serves thick slices of crusty bread, something that looks like butter but is a mild cheese spread and Ivar for while you are waiting on your meal. I just love it.

I'm sure everyone has their own variation on the recipe and this restaurant uses garlic and just a bit of spicy pepper in the mix. Just enough to know it's there but not enough to burn.

My Arab customers also have their version of the eggplant spread. I think it's called baba ganoush.

Yummy in any language.

Carol

[velikipop]

Carol,

The spelling is Ajvar. It has many regional variations throughout the Balkans. Basically it is a roasted pepper relish with a variety of other ingredients dependenig on the region. I suspect the reason that baba ganoush is similar is that much of middle eastern and Balkan cusine dervives from Turkish cuisine, which in my humble opinion rivals Italian and French.

I have never tried Gogoshari but I am growing Greygo, a Hungarian pepper, which is wonderful and would be great for Ajvar or Zacusa. It is a large round sweet pepper with very thick walls...just fabulous.

Alex

[Wi-sunflower]

Thanks for the proper spelling, Ajvar. I had only heard it spoken and never saw it in print til now.

I had an old Serbian cookbook (circa 1950) that had the recipe but they only called it "vegetable cariar". Back then they tried to anglicise everything.

Whatever the name and regional flavors you add, it's a great dish to start a meal with.

Carol

[mcsee]

It's good to get some information on these Peppers, as I'm growing them here in Australia this year for the first time. I can't wait to get them in the ground and get them growing bigger.

Here's a seedling emerging one week out from sowing.

[ContainerTed]

I thought I'd revive this thread to close out the story of Scott's friend Mihael and the elusive "zacusca" taste.

On December 24th, two nice things happened. I celebrated my 65th birthday and the mailman brought me a medium sized box. In the box, was some home cooking. A jar of homemade ketchup, a jar of homemade barbecue sauce, and a jar of Zacusca. Scott gets my public thank you for this one.

So, a quick recap of the story. Scott is looking for Gogosari Peppers to make authentic zacusca for his friend Mihael. Ted sees this and because Ted is negotiating a trade with Geza, asks about Gogosari Peppers. Geza sends a full packet of the "Pritamin Paprika" pepper seeds and half go to Scott. Scott grows the pepper and sends some to Mihael. Mihael's response (remember, Scott has tried literally every pepper available in the US) was:

"Exquisite"

Scott had finally hit the target and Mihael was saying things about "how my mama used to make it."

So, how did I like it??? Well, the aroma reminded me (somewhat) of a good beginning to a spaghetti sauce. The chunks of eggplant were a bit larger than I would have done, but all in all a very good taste. We brought in several kinds of bread and tried them all both soft and toasted, both with and without butter and/or extra garlic.

My thanks to Scott for both the goodies and inspiring me to acquire this pepper. I added some to the pickled peppers I made this year and it is "exquisite" when eaten that way too.

I sent a bunch of seeds for this pepper to Trudi at Wintersown.

Scott and Mihael, I thank you both again.

Ted

[Blueaussi]

Hey Ted,

How did the pepper itself taste?

[mensplace]

Originally Posted by Wi-sunflower

My Arab customers also have their version of the eggplant spread. I think it's called baba ganoush.

Yummy in any language.

Carol

I love baba ..in any language..Baba Ghanoush, Baba Ghannouj or Baba Ghannoug! I bet it would be good also with some crossover ingredients like the peppers above, some olives and capers from the french, and a hit of lime, cilantro, and avocado from the Hispanic.! First comes the good bread, for which I am totally envious of the folks in SF and Oakland.