Pickled jalapeno relish - escabeche

[jmoore]

1lb jalapenos
1lb baby carrots
2 tsp garlic
2 tbls whole peppercorns
2 tsp cumin seeds
salt

2 1qt Mason jars

1 pint vinegar

Sterilize two Mason jars and lids by putting them in simmering water for 10 minutes.

Sweat the carrots and jalapeno's until they become just barely tender. 5-10 minutes max. Some people add onions and cauliflower to the pepper/carrot mix. Any firm vegetable would work great.

Split all the ingredients above, except the vinegar, evenly between the two jars. Pack the jars with the vegetable mixture. Jam them in as tight as you can get it.

To the packed jars, add 1 cup vinegar each. Add a pinch of salt and top off with hot water. Fill the jars to within 1/2" of the top and put the lids on.

Shake them up and put them in the fridge overnight. They will be ready in 8-10 hours. If you are like me, they'll last about 3 days. I wiped out the first jar in three meals.

[applestar]

Hmmm... sounds promising
Help me out here, though, relish, so you cut them into dice? take out membrane and seeds? Or use them whole?

Also, what does it go best with?

[jmoore]

Hmmm... sounds promising
Help me out here, though, relish, so you cut them into dice? take out membrane and seeds? Or use them whole?

Also, what does it go best with?

I cut the jalapeno's into slices and I put everything in. Seeds, membranes, all of it. But I don't mind the heat. You could easily omit. The baby carrots went in whole. But if you had bigger carrots, you'd cut them into slices too. The jalapenos could go in whole too, but you'd want to cut a slit into them to let the vinegar mixture penetrate better.

The beauty of this recipe is it is easily customized to your tastes. One guy said he did it with pearl onions and green beans. I saw another that had cauliflower in it. One guy added sugar to his recipe for a sweet tinge. Sky's the limit.

What to eat it with? Tacos, scrambled eggs, nachos, burritos, any kind of Mexican food. By itself. If you make salsa, you could grind this up with your tom's and it would be great too. I'm going to use the leftover juice to marinate some chicken.

[xray_a]

sounds great! I'm assuming you could use pint or even half pint jars instead of quart sized?

[jmoore]

sounds great! I'm assuming you could use pint or even half pint jars instead of quart sized?

Sure. Just adjust the quantities accordingly. All I had were quart jars. Pints would be perfect, esp. if you plan on giving some away.

[xray_a]

thanks! My jalapeno plants are heavy with blooms and small peppers, so I've been looking for ways to use them up.

Angela

[jmoore]

thanks! My jalapeno plants are heavy with blooms and small peppers, so I've been looking for ways to use them up.

Angela

Mine too! Picking my first 4 peppers is what sent me on the recipe quest in the first place.

(confession: I had to supplement with some store boughts for this round )