Jalapeño Relish

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Vegan/Gluten-free/Nut-free

Skill Level: Beginner

Yield: About 1 3/4 cups relish

Prep Time: 15-20 minutes

Cook Time: 1-2 minutes

Equipment Needed:

• Cutting board 

• Chef's knife 

• Small saucepan

The Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 jalapeños, finely chopped

• 1 garlic clove, minced

• 1/2 of a red, yellow, or orange bell pepper (or a combo of colors), finely chopped

• 1/2 of an onion, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)

• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

• Kosher salt

• Freshly ground black pepper

Procedure:

1. Add the chopped jalapeño, minced garlic, chopped bell pepper, and chopped onion to a medium bowl and stir to combine.

2. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stir the apple cider vinegar and sugar until the sugar has dissolved (this should only take 1-2 minutes).

3. Add the vinegar mixture to the jalapeno mixture, along with a couple of hefty pinches of Kosher salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Stir to combine. Taste, and adjust seasoning to your liking. Store relish in a covered container in the fridge for 1-2 months. If you notice any bits of black mold on the lid or sides of your container, discard immediately.

To Serve: This spicy jalapeño relish is absolutely amazing on brats and hot dogs, but it's also great spooned over cheese such as cream cheese or brie cheese and eaten with crackers as a zesty appetizer! I also like to mix it in with scrambled eggs or add it to a rice or grain bowl. I think it would also pair really well with a piece of mild fish or over pan-fried tofu or tempeh.

Tips:

• When you are cutting jalapeños or any spicy pepper, take care not to touch/rub your eyes until after you have thoroughly washed your hands (or wear gloves while cutting).

• I leave the seeds and white membranes in when I chop my jalapeños for this recipe because I like a lot of spice, but if you want to take away some of the heat you can remove some or all of the seeds and membranes.

• If I have red bell pepper on hand, that is my preferred pepper color for this recipe because I like the complementary color scheme of green and red, but I also like to add in a second color of pepper if I have it handy for even more color contrast (for the photos in this post I used red and orange pepper).

• I usually use yellow onion in this recipe, but I think red or white would work really well too.
  

The Story:

Grilling season has arrived, and just like a good taco bar, I love having a bevvy of options to choose from when it comes to topping my brat or hot dog. Spice is always nice, and for this recipe I drew inspiration from a Target pick-up order mistake: I thought I was buying 1 jalapeño, but ended up with a small bag of them! I also recently purchased a little jalapeño plant that I potted and put out on the deck, so having a couple extra jalapeño recipes in my arsenal for the summer seemed appropriate.

The newest addition to my little deck garden

This jalapeño relish is quite spicy with a nice little kick of acidity from the apple cider vinegar, and I love that it can be made with ingredients that I generally have on hand, or that I like to pick up from the farmer's market in the summer. I LOVE and pledge my devotion to sauerkraut, but this relish is a fun, colorful way to mix it up. I can't wait to put a dish of it out at our next big neighborhood BBQ and watch it disappear.

What are your favorite brat toppings? I used to be a die-hard mustard-and-kraut-only kinda gal, but this spicy jalapeño relish is changing my mind :)

Happy tasting!