Oh my, these are good! These are SO good! Even better when I look at these jars and realize that I grew these peppers, as well as the garlic flavoring the brine.
A few weeks ago I looked at my Peperoncini plants and realized that there were an awful lot of peppers dangling from the branches. For a lot of peppers, I let them turn colors before doing anything with them, but I’ve always seen peperoncini’s in the their jars green. I decided I had enough to try a few pints anyway, so I plucked them from the branches and set about finding a recipe.
I didn’t have to look far. The Joy of Pickling by Linda Ziedrich had just what I was looking for- a small batch recipe that I could cut in half easily, as I had enough peppers for just two pints.
Seriously, these couldn’t be easier. With very little effort on my part I had two jars of pickled peppers sitting on my table. The only thing that I will change in the future about this recipe is that when you pour the brine over the peppers, it says to leave a good 1/2-inch head space. I followed that direction, but my peppers sucked up quite a bit of the brine and the brine level ended up below the peppers. Next time I will play with that measurement and see if a 1/4-inch headspace at the beginning will give me a better end result.
This is the first time I’ve ever added olive oil to a canning recipe. Usually that’s a no-no, but as the author here is a master canner, I’m trusting that she knows what she’s doing. The peppers are delicious, and I like that pulling one out of the jar you get a little coat of olive oil on the way to your mouth. I only waited 3 days before tasting and they are delicious.
Pickled Peperoncini
8 small garlic cloves 2 small Mediterranean bay leaves, torn in half 2 pounds straight green peperoncini, each slit once lengthwise, stems trimmed to about 1/4 inch 2 cups cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, or straight white 2 cups water 4 teaspoons pickling salt 1/4 cup olive oilDirections:
Divide the garlic piece and bay leaf evenly among 4 pint jars. Pack the peppers vertically into the jars.
In a nonreactive saucepan, bring the vinegar, water and salt to a boil. Pour the hot liquid over the peppers, leaving slightly more than 1/2-inch headspace, and then pour 1 tablespoon olive oil into each jar. Close the jars with two-piece caps (make sure the rims are free of oil, which could affect the seal). Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
Store the cooled jars in a cool dry place for at least 3 weeks before eating the peppers. Store in a refrigerator once opened.