Monday, October 18, 2010

October Tigress Can Jam: Marinated Peppers

This month super spicy Kaela at Local Kitchen picked a pepper for the October Tigress Can Jam. I'll admit that I'm a total wimp when it comes to spicy stuff. Add to that a toddler in the house, and it's very rare that I cook with chili peppers. Sweet peppers are nice, but I don't have them all the time. They weren't in my garden this year or last, come to think of it. They don't normally figure into my diet. That's why I love the Can Jam. It makes me think of things I wouldn't normally think of. Like peppers. Next year I'll grow peppers. It was sort of a revelation.

Right after I bought these lovely peppers, I started getting free peppers thrown at me. So, I diced and froze a bunch of green peppers, and have a bunch of little red hot peppers drying (I do use them, sparingly, I just don't like super spicy). I chose these sweet peppers because they were so gorgeous. And so, I happened upon a recipe for marinated peppers in Linda Ziedrich's The Joy of Pickling which sounded perfectly delicious and simple, to boot.

The next day, I opened a fridge jar. They were delicious even though the recipe calls for them to sit for three weeks before eating. Simple, great as antipasto but probably just as good sauteed with some good sausage or on a pizza. And the liquid makes a great salad dressing, Linda says. However, as I stare at them in the cupboard, I keep on wondering about how much oil is in them. The National Center for Preservation has a similar recipe, albeit with a bit more acid (in the form of lemon juice) in it's ratio. I never thought I could can peppers like this, so it seems strange to me. But, this is why I'm growing peppers next year. Have you ever canned peppers this way?

Marinated Sweet Peppers

2 1/4 pounds of bell peppers (cut in thick slices, seeds and membranes removed)
3 cloves of garlic
3 sprigs of fresh herbs, I used lemon thyme
1 cup white vinegar, I used red wine vinegar (7% acidity)
1 1/2 teaspoons of pickling salt
1 cup of olive oil

Put the peppers into a large bowl and cover them with boiling water. Let them stand until they are soft.

Drain the peppers. When they are cool put them into a hot jar, one that you've already place a clove of garlic and a sprig of your herb of choice in.

In a nonreactive pot, heat the vinegar and salt. Once it boils, add the oil. Bring the mixture to a boil again. Pour immediately over peppers to cover. De-bubble, clean and seal lids. Process in boiling water bath for ten minutes. Let sit for three weeks before eating, and once open, store in fridge.

18 comments:

  1. Um. Do you mind if I make your recipe for my can jam entry? That may be a first, but I'm going to make marinated peppers, too, and I was going to look at Linda Z's book, and I haven't even started yet. How embarrassing! Yours sound great, maybe I'll just post a link over to here. :-)

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  2. Yum. I bet these would be great with some nice chevre and thyme.

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  3. Oooh, they do sound great. Maybe I just need olive oil to tempt me into pickle-land? But I, too, wonder about a cup of olive oil. Maybe, like lemon curd, the acid from the vinegar negates the issue from the fat in the olive oil?

    I'm telling you... I need that canning lab.

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  4. Surely we can trust Linda Z? Your recipe is just my kind of thing. Peppers and chillis are just so photogenic aren't they. They'll be on my list to grow next year also.

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  5. julia, thanks for the ragu (sans) notion in the times. sounds fabuloso. and i can imagine you might want to do this ragu...
    i so very much admire your effervescent entries, now with peppers. beautiful images as well. such great energy!
    i love italian frying peppers from the grill, great with a nice charcoal roasted culotte. i am with you on the very spicy stuff, i do like some heat, like some of the milder chilis.

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  6. Julia I have canned the red peppers from a cookbook. I will have to look it up the book for you. I know my niece won't any of the store bought now. I always start trouble, for myself. I have to send them to her.

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  7. I think I may have to try this, Julia! I have the book, but hadn't noticed this particular recipe especially.

    Re: my pepper jelly, I tend to just smear it on things like cheese & crackers. It would be nice as a condiment on hamburgers, or almost any meat in fact. It's not too spicy; more warming (that's why I called it "Sunrise" instead of "firecracker".)

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  8. Shae - Of course not! And seriously, could you write up the recipe? You always have better detail. I'll make sure to link to you!

    Leena! - You are so right.

    Kaela - Yes, please start the lab! It just felt funny with all the oil, but I'm sure it's fine.

    Gloria - Yes, of course we can! But I just felt weird; I didn't realize I could use so much oil. I am all over peppers in the garden next year!

    Michael - Thank you! Yes, I'm very much looking forward to that ragu, but I liked reading about yours as well. Sounds so comforting!

    Jane - Isn't that how it always goes?

    Sarah - I'm really excited about this. Next year I would do a bunch. I really like the sound of that "Sunrise," yum!

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  9. I'm hoping to grow some peppers this winter - provided I can get the garden cleared! This is definitely getting bookmarked.

    Answering your question on my Carambola Pepper Jam post: I'm going to jam the rest of the ripe carambolas & thinking about pickling the mostly green ones if they don't ripen up in the next day or two. Yay for options! :-)

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  10. Renee - Thanks! And you will have to post those pickled carambolas, now, hear? That sounds stellar! (Oops, pun intended!)

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  11. I didn't realize until yours and tigress recipe that you could can with oil, I'm going to have to try that now.

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  12. Tigress - Thanks!

    Elle - I was surprised too!

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  13. Do the peppers get cut? and if so, do you do it before you soak them in the boiling water?

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  14. Cheryl - Thanks for the visit! Yes, the peppers get cut before the boiling water. Thanks for mentioning it. I did them in strips, but the original recipe halved them.

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  15. Julia, My hubby made a few jars of these a while back and we just got to eating them. YUM!!! They are so good tossed into soups and last night we chopped a few up and added them to a Vietnamese Duck salad. SO good. Thanks!
    xo
    E

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    1. Thanks, Erin! Aren't they awesome!? I made them this year, too, and plan on making them every year after that. Thanks to Linda Z. for this one! She's amazing. Your husband would love her tome on pickles, if you don't have it already! xoj

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  16. The recipe mentions removing the membrane. I presume this is the skin. I normall scald this off over a flame. Is that what there’s would do too?

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