Today, I have pickled some large chillies. These are great – they are a combination of sweet (from the sugar), acidic (vinegar), heat and salt. Overall, they are delicious and can be eaten with (almost) anything. We especially like them with fishcakes and stir-fried rice.
They are very easy to prepare and keep well in the fridge (although they are so good they don’t last long).
Ingredients
- 300g chillies
- 100g sugar
- 80ml white wine vinegar (or cider vinegar)
- 40ml water
- A large pinch of salt
I use the large, not-very-hot chillies that are easily found in UK supermarkets. Jalapeño peppers work well.
Slice the chillies into rounds. Depending on the size, you may like to cut diagonally. As you cut, the seeds will start to fall out. You can keep these in the pickles which will produce a hotter final product, or you can remove them as you go to keep the heat away.
Put the sugar, vinegar, water and salt into a pan.
And gently warm until the sugar has dissolved. Add the chopped chillies and slowly heat, occasionally stirring, until it just starts to boil then turn off the heat.
Immediately cover the pan and leave it to cool. You will notice that, as they cook and cool they will lose some of their colour vibrancy .
Once cool, put into a large jar and try to leave them for a few hours before eating them.
Yum