My friend Jenn from Bread + Butter put out a call to her Food Blogging friends to participate in a “Blogger Secret Ingredient” Challenge. Everyone had until today to post a recipe using bell peppers. Like the slacker I am I waited until today to make my recipe. But I must say, just because I waited until the last minute doesn’t mean my entry is sad or pathetic. Quite the opposite if I do say so myself. What I present to you and Jenn is a recipe (the winning recipe ;)) for “Red Bell Pepper Relish”.
It was very easy to make and fabulous to eat to say the least. I plan on buying some cute canning jars and making a big batch of this relish and give them away as gifts. This sweet and savory relish would be great poured on brie, cream cheese, or straight up served with crackers. Or in my case, pretzels. The addition of red pepper flakes gives this relish a nice little tingly heat burn on the tongue that is not too hot but enough to tantalize your tastebuds. This is so much better than anything you can buy in the store. Enjoy!
Red Bell Pepper Relish Recipe
(yields 3/4 cup of relish)
Ingredients:
1 red bell pepper (or any other type of bell pepper), chopped in small pieces
1/2 onion, chopped in small pieces
2/3 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of white vinegar
1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes (if you like less heat, use 1/4 tsp. If you like more heat, add 1/4 tsp.)
Directions:
Add everything to a small sauce pan and stir all the ingredients until well incorporated. Cook the relish on medium heat for 5 minutes and turn down the heat to medium-low for an additional 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until most of the liquid has reduced. Remove from heat and allow to cool before serving.
Rob: I’m not sure what went wrong. Are you preparing this on high heat? I would reduce your heat because it shouldn’t be caramelizing. You may need to stir more often. It is a similar process as making jam. The sugar acts as a preservative and therefore you need it. Feel free to email me with what you’re doing so I can help you further.
Alice
I tried this three times and each time I ended up with the sugar turning to caramel before all the liquid was evaporated. What am I doing wrong? seems like a lot of sugar for 1 bell pepper?
Tex: It actually keeps for a long time similar to jam. You could also can it for a longer shelf life.. but in the refridgerator approx. the same time you would keep store bought jam. Hope that helps!
it looks so delicious, but how well does it keep in a jar or in the fridge, i’m just askin cuz i got a garden full of bell peppers that are startin to turn red, i gotta do somethin with em
Oh, nice! I make batches of sweet and hot pepper jellies/jams every year, adore the stuff. The color in yours is beautiful!
This looks great, I think I’ll try this next time I make a oven baked Camembert.
Thanks for the inspiration!
// Mike
A magical combination of rich fruit flavours, this relish proves the perfect compliment to roast or smoked chicken and grilled cheese dishes.
excellent photography!! nice blog you have here.. ive got to try this out.. sure it sound delicious 🙂
cheers!!
Love these photos. Such a well done post! great idea. We will make this one soon. Thanks, s
Alice, this recipe looks phenomenal. The photos are quite enticing, especially the last one. I can’t wait to make this recipe… Maybe I’ll make it this saturday when we’re having some guests over…
Thanks for sharing!
-Kamran
P.S. I love you blog so much that I added it to “My Favorite Food Blogs” list. Just go to my blog, scroll down a bit, and you should find the picture to go to that section of my blog…
I’m a huge fan of red pepper and this caramelised version looks like heaven!
I really really love vegetable relishes, and this one looks like an amazing addition to summer hamburgers. Thanks!
So good!!! Great photos and content. Will have to try the recipe out.
That looks simple and delicious! I love red bell peppers. I can’t wait to try this. I never thought to feature them in a relish…genius!
I am sooo going to make this, that looks absolutely delectable!
It looks like a winner to me! …and actually something I might try!
What a great idea! Sounds like it’d be great with the cream cheese on crusty bread.
YUM – that looks and sounds delicious! I LOVE the step by step pictures too!
This looks great! I now have it in my to try pile,Thanks! I am hoping it tastes similar to my favorite Pepper Relish from Harry and David, but cheaper. I might add a chipotle to give it that smoky taste.
That looks wonderful! I love your picture with the stem from the pepper garnishing the bowl of relish! It sounds like it would be delicious on sandwiches, too… I think I would love it with turkey or chicken!
This red pepper relish sounds really good!
We’ve been playing with the idea of what to put out on a bruschetta bar (an idea we got from Fine Living). Tapenades. Tomato relish. Red pepper sauce. Fig jam and Manchego. And this would be a great, colorful addition. We love red peppers (mostly roasted), so we’ll have to try this soon. Thanks for a great sounding recipe.
Oh I bet that relish on pretzels was really good. It’s amazing how easy stuff like a red pepper relish is to make. To think that people pay obscene prices for stuff like that in gourmet grocery stores. Yours looks better than anything I have seen available in the store.
I love red bell peppers and this blood red sweet relish looks amazing 🙂
Nice. I’m glad you were able to submit to the BSI this week. =)I’ll definitely have to try this.