This bright, tart, spicy relish has been on the menu at Olivea since the restaurant opened last year. We serve it as a garnish on a sausage hash with poached eggs, but we’ve also used its as a sauce for grilled chicken or scallops.
Most chefs, including me, are guilty of overusing peppers, or cooking with them out of season. Their season extends from Labor Day until late October or whenever they are stopped by a few hard frosts.
Cooking with bell peppers at the height of their season is a chance to work with the flavors of late summer and early fall, flavors that are bigger and bolder than those of high summer but still lively and fresh.
Charring the peppers, then pickling them gives them a complex, explosive flavor that works well with neutral-tasting proteins such as poached eggs or chicken or scallops.
My recipe uses red bell peppers for their sweetness, and mildly spicy green Anaheim chiles to give the relish a little kick. Feel free to substitute Hatch chiles for the Anaheims.
Pickled Pepper Relish
Makes 2 cups.
Ingredients
2 cups distilled vinegar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
2 teaspoons salt
4 red bell peppers
4 green Anaheim peppers
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
Directions
In a small pot, bring vinegar, sugar, water and salt to a full boil. Transfer the liquid to a small metal bowl and chill.
Char all the peppers over on an open flame. Submerge the peppers in the pickling liquid and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Remove the peppers from the pickling liquid. With a paring knife, scrape off most of the charred skin. Remove the stems from the peppers. Open the peppers and scrape out the seeds. (Do not rinse the peppers — rinsing will wash out a lot of the flavor.)
Carefully cut the peppers in a small dice. Place the peppers in a small salad bowl. Place a strainer over the bowl, and strain 1/2 cup pickling liquid over the peppers. Stir in the olive oil and thyme.
