Pickled Sweet Red Peppers
“Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.” Lucky Peter, I have to make my own!
But really I don’t mind, because pickled sweet red peppers are delicious. They can make tossed salad sublime, a sandwich scrumptious and an antipasto platter authentico. My fridge is never without them. The jewel like colour, the unctuous texture and the sweet flavour cannot be substituted.
A 5kg box of sweet red peppers landed on my doorstep last night, a gift from a friend who works at the wholesale fruit and veg market.
These pickled peppers give maximum reward for little effort. It’s important that you collect all the nectar-like juices that ooze from the peppers as you work. They are an important part of this pickled pepper recipe. Recipe continues after the photo gallery
8 fleshy red capsicums
1 cup red wine vinegar, approx.
1/2 cup olive oil
Char the capsicum skins until black. You can do this on the BBQ, under the grill or as I do, directly over a gas jet.
When the capsicums are charred all over, place them into a container with a sealed lid to steam. This will make them easy to peel.
When the peppers are cool enough to handle, remove the skins, seeds and white fleshy membranes. Do not wash the peppers, but use very clean hands to wipe off the debris. I keep the sink full of water to rinse my hands repeatedly while I’m doing this.
Tear the capsicums into strips and collect in a bowl. Sprinkle a little sea salt over each pepper as you go
Pour enough vinegar into a 1 litre clip top jar to cover the base.
Tip the remaining vinegar into a separate bowl, then toss a few strips of capsicum in the vinegar at a time then drop them into the jar.
Strain the juices and the leftover vinegar to remove any lingering skin or seeds, then pour them over the peppers in the jar. Use a chopstick to dislodge any air bubbles then top the jar up with the remaining juices, to within 3cm of the top.
Fill the jar with olive oil.
Keep for 1 week before using. Will keep for a few months stored in the fridge.
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7 comments on “Pickled Sweet Red Peppers”
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Please Pass the Recipe by Sandra Gay is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
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I continue the tradition that my mom started, and then my dad continued with. In the Autumn, we pick-up bushels of red peppers and roast them on the barbie. My mom used to can them in jars with olive oil and garlic. This was too much for my dad to do so he would slice them and freeze them with their juices in plastic bags. Throughout the winter, he would take a bag out of the freezer and dress them with olive oil, parsley, garlic and salt. And voila, almost as if they’d come right off the barbie! That’s how I do it as well. They do look gorgeous in that jar… perhaps I might have to make just one, to show off!!
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Teach both methods to your daughters, then they have options. It’s wonderful to make dishes that have family tradition attached, but you know that already!
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End of last Summer, a vendor at the farmers market had some small capsicums, he called them Tulip Bells. I pickled them as-is, never thinking to roast them first. Although I like them “my” way, I’m sure I’d love them “your” way. And I can use regular-sized capsicums, so, there’ll be no need to wait for the seasons end. Thanks for sharing!
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I love the charred flavour that imbues the red peppers when you blacken the skins.
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mm..mm..mmmm. scrummy. If only red peppers were not so expensive where I am. Think I need to go to the markets on a Saturday.
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You might snare some late season peppers at a good price! Pickled peppers are well worth the effort.
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