Pickled Chillis
Pickles are great to make because they’re quick, cheap, and full of flavour. With just vinegar, sugar, salt, and a few spices and aromatics, you can transform fresh vegetables into something that lasts longer, tastes bright, and adds a pop of acidity, texture, and freshness to various dishes. Pickling is also a great way to reduce food waste, allowing you to preserve vegetables before they go off.
Homemade pickles are easy to get creative with..you can adjust the sweetness, acidity (by using less or no water), and aromatics to create flavours you won’t find in shop bought pickles. They also make a lovely gift to bring to a dinner party, as a small jar of homemade pickles feels thoughtful and personal, and people appreciate something homemade.
I personally love adding pickled chilli to wraps, canapés, ramens and curries!
Warning: don’t rub your eyes, recipe below!🫙🌶️
Ingredients
150–180 g fresh red normal size chillies (about 3 packs)
150ml ml white vinegar
150ml apple cider vinegar (you can just use white wine vinegar but I like a combination of apple cider vinegar)
120ml water
1 tsp Maldon salt
1-2 tbsp brown sugar
Aromatics:
3 bay leaves
2 cloves
Pinch of fennel seeds
3 black peppercorns
Instructions
1. Slice the chillies into rings thinly at a slight angle (leave some seeds if you like more heat or remove if you don’t want extra heat).
2. Sterilise a jar and lid by placing in boiling water.
3. Once sterilised, dry and put the chillies into the clean 300 ml jar and any remaining chillies in a spare jar.
4. Make the pickle liquor, in a saucepan combine the vinegar, water, salt, sugar and the aromatics.
5. Heat until the salt and sugar dissolves (no need to boil hard) and strain.
4. Pour the hot liquid into the jar until the chillies are fully covered.
5. Cool, seal jar with lid, label with date and refrigerate!
* Tip: use a sharp knife (mine wasn’t quite sharp enough in the video, a sharp knife will help you achieve thinner slices!
