Pickled Jalapenos (Escabeche) Recipe
Filed under Condiment, Mexican and Tex Mex
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Chiles Jalapenos y Serrano Escabeche
This year I decided to grow jalapeño and serrano chiles - those wonderfully hot and flavorful Mexican chiles that are used salsa, guacamole, and so many Mexican dishes. But I certainly wasn't expecting each plant to yield over a pound of chiles! What to do with so many? I posed the question to Diana Kennedy when she was in town recently. The answer? Escabeche, or pickled jalapeños. Of course. Pickled jalapeños are served as a condiment with many meals in Mexico. My mother used to buy jars of escabeche when I was a child. The chiles can be cut up and used for many dishes.
Pickled Jalapenos (Escabeche) Recipe
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Ingredients
1 lb serrano or jalapeño chile peppers
1/3 cup olive oil
2 medium white onions, thickly sliced
2 medium carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
1 head garlic, cloves separated but not peeled
3 cups apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp Kosher salt or sea salt
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
4 sprigs of fresh marjoram or 1/4 teaspoon dried
4 sprigs of fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried
1 Tbsp sugar
Method
1 Wash the chiles, leaving the stems intact. Cut a cross in the tip end of each chile so that the vinegar will be able to penetrate.
2 Heat oil in a large, deep skillet. Add the chiles, onions, carrots, and garlic. Fry over medium heat for about 10 minutes, turning them over occasionally.
3 Add the vinegar, salt, herbs, and sugar and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes for serranos or 10 minutes for jalapeños.
4 Pack 6 half-pint sterilized jars with the chiles and vegetables. Top with the vinegar and seal. Process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.
Once opened, can keep for one month in the refrigerator.
Note from Diana Kennedy is that partially cooked chiles allow for the growth of bacteria. It is very important to cook the chiles thoroughly if they are to be stored for any length of time.
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Posted by Elise on Oct 7, 2005 and indexed Escabeche, Jalapeno, Mexican, Pickle
These look a lot like the pickled jalapenos I sort of winged based on a recipe in Jim Fobel's Big Flavors. He adds more spices like peppercorns, cumin, cloves, bay leaves, though. Fobel recommends chilling the jalapenos, too. I tweaked, hot-packing them in jam jars, and they kept fabulously on my shelves for three years, through two hot summers and a move. I'll have to try this one... very decorative with the carrot slices.