Recipe

December 23, 2015

Last-Minute Hostess Gift: Quick Pickled Peppers

Recipe: Kristen Eppich

Food editor Kristen Eppich shares a quick and easy recipe for pickled peppers.

House & Home Food Editor Kristen Eppich

Edible hostess gifts are all the rage this year – and these quick pickled peppers fit the bill perfectly. They are the simplest, quickest, and best version of a homemade preserve. Plus, the pickled peppers are spicy, salty, sweet and perfect for the season.

Since they’re a quick pickle, remember to tell your guests they need to be refrigerated. Use a mixture of small to medium sized peppers to provide a variety of heat levels and flavors. I like a combination of jalapeno with padron or shishito and 1 or 2 small red chilies per jar. Serve them on a charcuterie board, pickle tray, cheese tray, in a cocktail or chopped up as a condiment. Try to make them at least one day in advance.

Prep: 5 minutes

Ingredients

  •  2 ½ cups white or cider vinegar
  • 1 ½ cups water
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 tbsp sea salt or pickling salt
  • 6 whole black peppercorns
  • 6 whole allspice berries
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 3 garlic cloves, halved 
  • 1 lb mixed small to medium sized peppers (jalapeno, shishito, chilies)

Directions

Yield: 6 250ml jars

  1.  Combine vinegar with water, sugar, salt, peppercorns, allspice berries, mustard seed and bay leaf in a pot over high heat. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly while you pack the peppers into the jars.
  2. Drop half a clove of garlic into the bottom of 6 250ml clean canning jars. Firmly pack peppers into jars. Pour warm vinegar mixture into jars to ¼ inch from the top. Place lids on top and seal. Cool to room temperature then store in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.
Author: Kristen Eppich