Pickled Jalapenos – Easy & Quick Way to Pickle

Pickled Jalapenos – The easiest way to pickle

This is a legendary way to spice up your winter burgers, burritos or pizza (?!) plus homemade pickled jalapenos are way, way better than shop bought.  When not pickled, I even like ’em in a smoothie, something like kale, banana and apple, is awesome with a few slices of jalapeno, great also paired with pineapple.

You can take this recipe wherever you like flavouring wise, add spices or herbs, but I went for simple garlic with a little tickle of ginger.  Maybe some chipotle or other Mexican dried chillies, I wonder how that would go, never tried it…. let me know!

Use this method of pickling for most veggies, it’s a really simple way to preserve and enhance the flavours in vegetables.  For some strange reason, they were selling off jalapenos for pennies at our local shop in Caernarfon, I snapped them up and knew exactly where they were heading.  Jane is not a massive chilli fan, so having a jar of jalapenos in the fridge is perfect for me, I pop in there every now and again to add a little zing to dishes, of course, these will light up anything remotely Mexican.  They are surely one of the most legendary Mexican ingredients.

When I love a dish, I always want to find a way to make it myself.  These pickled are something I first really got a taste for in Mexico, I especially like the big jars of pickles in most street food style eateries, called ‘Escabeche’, huge jars of things like carrots, radishes, cauliflowers and onion.  A perfect lift to go with the rich Mexican dishes.  You can make ‘Escabeche’ like this, maybe add some black peppercorns to the mix.

These chillies will be nice served with our Cashew & Kale Black Bean Mole with Tofu Bacon or Mexican Corn & Mushroom Omelette with Avocado & Tomato Salsa.

Recipe Tips

I said this will work for most veggies, which is true, but with watery vegetables like cucumber, it’s best to salt them first.  Rub some salt into them and leave them to drain over a colander for an hour or so then rinse well.  This removes a good amount of the water and makes for more intense pickles.

If you leave the seeds in, expect fireworks!  In a good way if you’re a chilli head.  Take them out for milder, more placid results.

I love pickled garlic, so I’ve added a load of garlic cloves.  They mellow when pickled and are really crunchy and lovely.  If you’re not a fan, just omit them and add more chillies.

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Pickled Jalapenos

The Bits – One large jarful

14 jalapeno chillies (sliced)

175ml white wine/ distilled white vinegar

175ml water

8 or as many as you like garlic cloves (peeled and whole)

2 bay leaves

4 slices fresh ginger

2 tbs sugar

1/2 tbs sea salt

Do It

In saucepan, add all the ingredients, bar the chillies.  Stir and bring to a boil, making sure the sugar is dissolved.  Add the chillies and leave to cool for 15 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, pack your chillies, garlic and ginger into a clean jar, pour over enough pickling brine to cover.  Seal the jar and leave in the fridge and enjoy!  You can eat them straight away, but they’re better after a day or two.

The chillies will be quite happy in the fridge for a week.

Foodie Fact

Chillies are full, full, full of Vitamin C.  Perfect for a boost in the winter.  They are also rich in vitamin A and K, they even have a little fibre going on.