Pickled Okra and Pickled Peppers

Pickled Pepper and Okra

I received 3 perfect pickling cucumbers in my CSA share a few weeks ago, and I couldn’t wait to make my own pickles! I had been seeing recipes all around the blogosphere, and I had chosen the perfect bread and butter pickle recipe to try for myself.

But my week got busy, and I needed those cucumbers for a salad… the pickles never happened.

CSA Share Week 4

Preparing to pick up my share this week, I realized that I could pickle my okra. Perhaps with a hot pepper to add some spice, and a garlic clove or two for flavor.

As I began dreaming of pickled okra, I had an epiphany… you can pickle almost anything, including peppers!

Hot Peppers, pre-pickle

After browsing the internet for a recipe to use as the base for both of my pickled vegetables, I remembered The Homesick Texan Cookbook sitting on my bookshelf, which features an entire chapter on pickles and preserves! I decided to use the Spicy Pickled Okra recipe as a starting place for both the okra and the peppers.

My brother-in-law had suggested that adding sugar to the brine helps to control the spiciness of pickled peppers, so I decided to add a tablespoon of sugar to the vinegar and salt brine. The proportions of my recipe were somewhat approximate, “a bit” of this, “enough” of that… I figure that pickles are one of those things that is okay being approximate. The recipe called for fresh dill, but I decided to substitute fennel fronds (remember my fennel from a few weeks ago? The fronds are still around, stored in the fridge).

Fennel Fronds

Spicy Pickled Okra and Pickled Peppers

Makes 4 pints

Ingredients

Okra

Hot peppers

Fennel fronds

4 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon peppercorns

3 cups apple cider vinegar

1 Tablespoon sugar

1/4 cup kosher salt

Ingredients

Method

Sterilize the jars and lids with hot water.

Fill one jar with okra pods, 2 cloves garlic, one hot pepper (seeds and stem removed, cut in half lengthwise), and 1/4 teaspoon peppercorns.

Fresh Okra

Slice peppers crosswise, removing some of the seeds. Fill the second jar with peppers and remaining garlic and peppercorns.

Combine vinegar, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil. Pour into the jars. Fill up the rest of the jars with water, leaving some space at the top

Pickled Peppers

Allow the jars to cool before refrigerating. They will be ready in 4 hours and will last for 1 month in the refrigerator.