Sweet Red Pepper Condiment Food

AJVAR (SERBIAN ROASTED RED PEPPER RELISH)

Steps:

• Preheat the grill to medium high heat, roughly 450⁰F. (You should be able to hold your hand a few inches above the cooking grate for 4-6 seconds.)
• Pierce the skin of the eggplant all over with a fork. Place the eggplant over a cooler section of the grill (350-400⁰F) and let it roast, turning occasionally, until the skin darkens and the eggplant is soft, 30 minutes.
• While the eggplant is roasting, place the red peppers over the hottest part of the grill. Rotate the peppers as the skin blackens, until the peppers are soft and you have achieved a nice char on all sides.
• Place the charred red peppers in a paper bag or in a glass bowl covered with a tea towel to let them steam for 10 minutes.
• After steaming, the skin on the peppers should have loosened. Remove the stem and core of the peppers and peel off the skin. Place the remaining flesh into the bowl of your food processor.
• Once the eggplant is soft, remove it from the grill. Let it cool until it is easy to handle. Cut the eggplant in half. Scoop out the flesh and place it in the food processor with the red peppers.
• Add the raw garlic clove to the food processor and pulse until the mixture is well chopped.
• Add the olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper, and pulse until combined.*
• Taste your ajvar and adjust the salt and pepper as desired.
• Use your ajvar immediately or keep in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
• It is a wonderful sauce to serve as an appetizer with bread. And, it also pairs beautifully with cevapi, Eastern European grilled sausages.

EASY RED PEPPER JAM

Steps:

• Start 3 cups of water to boil.Core and seed red peppers and cut into large chunks. Place in a food processor. Pulse until no large chunks remain. Remove to a large bowl and cover with boiling water. Let stand 15 minutes, then drain well.
• Add drained red pepper puree to a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add sugar, vinegar, salt and red pepper flakes, if using. Stir to combine. Heat over medium heat until mixture boils, then reduce heat to medium low and simmer, stirring regularly to start, then watching and stirring more regularly towards the end of cooking to avoid scorching on the bottom, until mixture is thickened, about 40-45 minutes. (Mixture will thicken further in the fridge).
• Prepare three one-cup capacity jars by cleaning well.
• When jam is ready, spoon into prepared jars and allow to cool 15 minutes uncovered. Place lids on jars, just finger tight and place in the refrigerate for 6-8 hours, before using.

GIARDINIERA

Steps:

• In a large stockpot, combine vinegar, sugar, water, canning salt, oregano and fennel seed. Bring to a boil. Add cauliflower, carrots, celery and onions; return to a boil. Remove from heat; add peppers., Carefully ladle hot mixture into 10 hot 1-pint jars, leaving 1/2- in. headspace. Add a bay leaf and 2 peppercorns to each jar; divide garlic slices among jars. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding more hot mixture. Wipe rims. Center lids on jars; screw on bands until fingertip tight. , Place jars into canner with simmering water, ensuring that they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil; process for 10 minutes. Remove jars and cool.

SWEET RED PEPPER CONDIMENT

Steps:

• Peel the tomatoes by dropping them in boiling water for a minute and then removing them to cold water: Take off the tomato skins and chop the tomatoes.
• Puree the tomatoes, then press through a sieve or food mill, extracting all the liquid. Discard the remaining pulp.
• Heat olive oil in a large heavy saucepan over meadium-low heat.
• Add onions and cook until they are browning, about 8-10 minutes.
• Add the red peppers and stir, then cover and reduce heat to low for 10 minutes.
• Add vinegar and bring to a simmer. Simmer, uncovered, until the vinegar is reduced by half. About 20 - 30 minutes.
• Add tomato to the pepper mixture, add 1 cup of sugar, and then add the raisins, garlic, ginger, salt, pepper, allspice, and chili peppers.
• Cover and cook for an hour.
• Uncover, and continue cooking, until the pickle thickens to a spreadable consistency. Up to two hours.
• Taste and add the additional 1/2 cup of sugar if needed.
• Ladle into hot sterilized jars.
• Let cool and cover with clean lids.
• Refrigerate for up to 6 months.

SPICY RED-PEPPER JELLY

Steps:

• Sterilize jars and lids:
• Wash jars, lids, and screw bands in hot, soapy water, then rinse well. Dry screw bands. Put empty jars on a rack in a boiling-water canner or a deep 8- to 10-quart pot and add enough hot water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, covered, then boil 10 minutes. Remove canner from heat, leaving jars in water, covered. Heat lids in water to cover by 2 inches in a small saucepan until thermometer registers 180°F (do not let boil). Remove from heat. Keep jars and lids submerged in hot water, covered, until ready to use.
• Make jelly:
• Pulse bell peppers with red-pepper flakes in a food processor until finely chopped. (Mixture will measure about 2 1/2 cups.)
• Whisk together pectin and 1/4 cup sugar in a small bowl.
• Stir together pepper mixture, vinegar, butter, salt, and remaining 3 cups sugar in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot. Bring to a vigorous boil over high heat, then continue to boil vigorously, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Gradually add pectin mixture, whisking constantly. Return jelly to a vigorous boil, stirring constantly, and boil, stirring constantly, 1 to 2 minutes (mixture will thicken slightly). Remove from heat.
• Carefully remove jars and lids with canning tongs, then drain jars upside down on a clean kitchen towel and quickly dry lids. Invert jars and immediately ladle hot jelly into jars, leaving 1/4 inch of space at top. (Last jar may not be full.) Run a clean plastic spatula between jelly and sides of jars to eliminate air bubbles. Wipe off rims of filled jars with a damp clean kitchen towel, then firmly screw on lids with screw bands.
• Seal and process jars:
• Put sealed jars on rack in canner or pot and add enough hot water to cover by 2 inches. (If you have a jar that is partially full, do not process it. Cover it with a lid and screw band, then keep in refrigerator.) Bring to a full boil, covered, then boil jelly, covered, 15 minutes. Transfer jars with canning tongs to a towel-lined surface to cool. Jars will seal; if you hear a ping, that means that the vacuum formed above the cooling jelly has made the lid concave. Remember that you may or may not be around to hear the ping. The important thing is for the jars to eventually have concave lids. Jelly will thicken as it cools.
• After jars have cooled, 12 to 24 hours, press center of each lid to check that it's concave, then remove screw band and try to lift lid with your fingertips. If you can't, the lid has a good seal. Replace screw band. Put any jars that haven't sealed properly in the refrigerator and use them first (along with jar that was only partially full).

SWEET RED PEPPER SAUCE

Steps:

• Using a long fork, hold the red pepper directly over a gas flame or close to the heating element of a preheated electric broiler. Cook, turning it often so that it blisters and blackens all over - top, bottom and sides.
• Let stand until cool enough to hold, and rinse thoroughly under cold tap water, peeling off the burned outer skin. Cut the pepper flesh into 1-inch pieces. There should be about 3/4 cup.
• Cut the onion into 1/4-inch cubes. There should be about 3/4 cup.
• Cut the tomato into 1/2-inch cubes. There should be about 3/4 cup.
• Put the tomato, sweet pepper, onion, hot pepper, mustard, vinegar, oil, garlic and chervil in the container of a food processor. Blend thoroughly.