Makes about 2 pints.
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
- 8 red peppers, or really any colored peppers
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup vinegar (any kind)
- Kosher salt
- Canning jars
- A chopstick or butter knife
- First wash, dry and then lightly oil your sweet peppers. You can do this with hot peppers, too, but be sure to use thick-walled varieties such as jalapenos.
- Roast your peppers. Ideally this is over a smoky wood fire, on a grill. Second choice is a gas grill, third an open burner on a stove. Alternatively, arrange your peppers on a broiling pan and broil them. No matter what your heating method, you will need to turn your peppers from time to time as the skins char and blacken.
- When the peppers are mostly blackened, remove them to a paper grocery bag and roll up the bag to seal in the steam. You want to steam the peppers in their own juices. Let the bag sit for 20-40 minutes.
- After the peppers have cooled and steamed, take them out one at a time and remove the skins, stems and seeds. Have a little water running in the sink so you can wash your hands off periodically. Do NOT run the peppers under the water, as this robs them of flavor.
- Once each pepper is cleaned — get as many seeds out as you can! — drop it in a bowl. Do all the peppers before proceeding.
- Once all the peppers are cleaned and in the bowl, get a shallow bowl or small casserole pan and pour in some vinegar. I use red wine, cider or sherry vinegar for red peppers (sherry when I want them to be Spanish, cider for Portuguese, red wine for Italian or Greek) and white wine for green peppers.
- Dredge each pepper through the vinegar a few times to get it good and coated. Place it in another bowl. Do this for all the peppers.
- Sprinkle the bowl with all the peppers with kosher salt. Gently mix the peppers together like a salad. Sprinkle a little more salt and repeat.
- Sprinkle a little salt into the bowl with the pepper juice — the original bowl.
- Gather canning jars and pour a little vinegar into each one; enough to cover the bottom of the jar.
- Pack in the peppers, leaving about 1/2 space at the top.
- Use a butter knife or chopstick to run down the sides of the jars, releasing air bubbles. You will notice the level of liquid drop. Fill it with the salted pepper juice — but still leave room at the top of the jar.
- Once the air is out to the best of your ability and the vinegar-pepper juice it right at the top of the level of the peppers, pour in olive oil on top of everything to a depth of 1/4 inch.
- Screw the lids on the jars and you’re done. No sealing needed, although I sometimes place the jars in a hot water bath for 10 minutes just in case. I have not noticed a big difference either way.
- Once you open a jar, however, keep it in the fridge. It will last a year, although the peppers will soften over time.