Zigeuner Sauce (Gypsy Sauce)

5 from 11 votes

A delicious spicy sauce made from peppers and tomatoes. Great for schnitzel, to make the iconic Zigeunerchnitzel, or pair with beef or sausages.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine German, Hungarian

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 10

Total Time 20

Servings people

Calories 93kcal

Author Marita

500 g bell peppers about 3 - red, yellow and green
2 onions
2 garlic cloves
1 can chopped tomatoes 400 g
100 g gherkins / pickles not the sweet variety
200 ml vegetable stock /broth
1 teaspoon tomato paste
2 tablespoon tomato ketchup
1 tablespoon vinegar from the gherkin jar
1 tablespoon sweet paprika powder
½ teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon sugar optional - check flavour as some tomato ketchups are sweeter than other so you might not need it.
1 tablespoon olive oil

Slice the peppers in rough slices (you do not want them to be too fine, as the peppers should maintain their texture). Slice the onion, and chop the gherkins in 0.5 cm chunks. Finley cube the garlic.
Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and then fry the peppers and onions until the onions are translucent.
Now add in the garlic, gherkins and tomato paste fry briefly.
Pour in the can of tomatoes, vegetable stock/broth and ketchup. Add the spices and add the vinegar to taste. (do it slowly as the right amount depends on your personal taste.) If necessary add more sugar, to even out the flavours.
Cook on a medium to low heat for about 5 minutes. The peppers should be cooked but still maintain some crunch and texture.
Sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving.
Serve with schnitzel or steak or simply with some pasta.

add mushrooms, or courgette /zucchini to your sauce
replace the canned tomatoes with fresh tomatoes
to give the sauce a smoother note, you can add cream or milk to the sauce.
add white wine to the sauce (about 200 ml)
to thicken the sauce you can also add some cornstarch or flour at the end. Bring to a boil until the sauce reaches the desired consistency.
To increase the peppery taste you can add 3 tablespoons pepper paste to the sauce.

Although the sauce is best known to be paired with Schnitzel it is very versatile.

In Germany, this sauce is a popular BBQ sauce and served with steaks. It also tastes really good with some fried chicken or turkey breast.

Vegetarians like to simply eat it with pasta.

The sauce can stay good in the fridge for up to five days. Store in an airtight container.