Mexican pickled jalapeños with carrot, onion and garlic, simmered briefly in vinegar and water with bay and hierbas de olor until the chiles turn olive-green, then kept in the refrigerator.
Untested: not yet made in this kitchen. It is here for the Peppers and Hot Sauce pages and is adapted from the source named in the Notes.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
- 5 garlic cloves, peeled
- ½ medium onion, cut into ¼-inch slices
- 1 large carrot, peeled (if wished) and cut into ¼-inch slices on the bias
- 6 to 8 large or 12 medium jalapeño chiles
- 1 cup vinegar (distilled white or apple cider)
- 1 cup water
- 2 or 3 bay leaves
- ½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper, about
- 1 teaspoon dried mixed hierbas de olor (typically thyme, marjoram and/or oregano), about
- 1 generous teaspoon salt
Directions
Key ingredients
- In a large (4-quart) saucepan, heat the oil over medium. When it is hot, add the garlic and onion and cook, stirring regularly, until the onion is translucent, about 4 minutes.
- Add the rest of the ingredients, including the 1 cup water. Bring to a simmer, partially cover and simmer, stirring from time to time, until the carrots are crisp-tender and the jalapeños have turned olive-green, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Taste and season with more salt if necessary. Pour into a heat-proof storage container and cool, then cover and refrigerate for a day before using.
Notes
Source Adapted from Rick Bayless, “Pickled Jalapeños and Vegetables (Chiles Jalapeños y Verduras en Escabeche),” rickbayless.com. It makes about 1 quart. Bayless likes adding cauliflower florets.
Why the vinegar is cut Bayless: “This recipe is written for vinegar with 5% acidity … which is too strong for this kind of pickling. That’s why we cut it with water. In Mexico, a lot of commercial vinegar and all the homemade vinegar you buy in market stalls is weaker and can be used straight.”
A gap in the source The source does not say whether the jalapeños are left whole, slit or sliced.
Storage A refrigerator pickle, not a canning recipe: the source says it keeps “for months refrigerated in a sealed container,” and that applies to the refrigerator only. The 1:1 vinegar-to-water brine is not a tested canning formula.
The dish The Peppers and Hot Sauce section (/hot-sauce/) covers pickled chiles in Mexico and the difference between a refrigerator pickle and a canned one.
The photo The photograph shows chiles en escabeche with carrots, not this exact recipe.