Pickled Calabrian Peppers

Pickled Calabrian Chiles

This recipe is actually a Ben Mekler original. For those of you who don’t know, that’s my husband. While wandering through our local farmer’s market, we found a vendor who had calabrian chiles. He’s a big calabrian fan, and suggested we buy some to pickle. I wasn’t as familiar with this particular breed of pepper, but I’m never not down for a pickling adventure.

Now, I knew they’d be good, but I didn’t think they’d differ much from other pickled peppers. When I tried them, however, I was delighted to find that they were absolutely bursting with flavor (of the sweet/smoky/spicy variety). So I made him hand over a recipe so that I could share it with you. It’s basically a recipe for pickled jalapeños that he adapted to suit these lovely Italian peppers and our garlic loving palates. Super easy and delicious, though heads up: it does require 48 hours to do its thing!

When searching for calabrian chiles, I’d suggest starting with your local farmers market. I’ve seen them at mine throughout the summer. I’ve also been able to find them at small, seasonal markets that tend to have a little more variety than my regular grocery store. My go-to is called Cookbook, but that’s really only relevant if you live in Los Angeles.

I’d also suggest using high quality white wine vinegar if you can get it. I’m a firm believer in using the best ingredients you can get when a recipe doesn’t require many.

Pickled Calabrian Chilis

Pickled Calabrian Chiles

Ingredients:

  • 4 or 5 cloves of galic, smashed
  • 2.5 tbsp salt
  • 2 cups hot water
  • 1/4 cup of really good white wine vinegar (seriously, quality matters here)
  • 12ish calabrian chiles, thinly sliced

Directions:

  1. Place the garlic and salt in a large glass jar. Add in the water and vinegar. Close the jar and shake it up to dissolve the salt and create a brine. Then open it back up and add the calabrians.
  2. Leave the jar of chiles and brine out on the counter for about 2 days, then put in the fridge.

And that’s it! As far as I can tell, these pickled peppers are good on everything. So far, I’ve used them in salads and omelettes, both of which they improved drastically. I bet they’d also be dope on pizza. They should last at least a couple weeks in the fridge, which should give you plenty of time to experiment.

If you make this, be sure to let me know what you think in the comments or on Instagram! I love seeing pictures of your gorgeous creations, so be sure to tag me in any of those!

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *