Free veggies!
At the markets last weekend, we found ourselves with a box of free red capsicums. Yes free. We honestly didn’t pay a cent for them. The catch was that they were definintely less than perfect and couldn’t be sold. There were quite a few that had bad bits in them that needed cutting out. But if you did cut them out and used the capsicums straight away, you were away laughing. After all, you’d be a fool to turn down free produce given it can be so expensive to purchase in supermarkets. Even if they were less than perfect, I’d find a way to use them… and I did too.
Normally if we got ourselves capsicums in bulk I’d make stuffed peppers. However, by cutting out the bad bits it left big holes which meant stuffing was not really possible. That’s when I decided to chargrill them in the oven and marinate them afterwards. I’ve never done this before, the marinating part. It was my first time and at first I had thoughts of it being a lot more complicated than it actually was. I honestly thought there would be quite a few ingredients involved to marinate them when in actual fact the ingredient list was quite sparse.
The end result is that I have a jar of marinated chargrilled capsicums in the fridge I can use on pizza, as antipasto or in sandwiches. It’s great to be able to make my own chargrilled capsicums rather than buying from the supermarket. Plus so much more rewarding!
Even if you find yourself with capsicums that weren’t free but you were able to get a couple more than just a few, definitely give this a go and marinate them yourself! This is a simple recipe to make and these chargrilled capsicums will definitely get eaten up in no time.
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Marinated Chargrilled Capsicums
Ingredients
- 1 kg red capsicums
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
- salt
- Pepper, freshly ground
Instructions
- Wash and remove stems from each capsicum. Cut in half and remove all seeds and white pith.
- Place flesh side down on a baking tray covered with baking paper. Grill in oven on 175 degrees celsius. The idea to chargrill them slow so the skin doesn't blacken too quickly yet the flesh starts to softens in the oven.
- Remove from oven and put into a plastic bag and seal shut for 5 minutes to steam. Remove from bag and peel or rub the blackened skin to remove.
- In a small bowl, add the soft capsicum flesh, crushed garlic, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Mix together then transfer just the flesh into a clean, sterilised jar (see recipe notes below). Gently pour the rest of the mixture into the jar until all capsicums are covered. Seal and store in fridge.
Notes
- I marinated red capsicums but you could do this with yellow or orange ones too. Just don't do green ones as they aren't as sweet as their other coloured counterparts.
- It is important to sterilise jars to prevent mould forming. Firstly, choose glass jars with an airtight lid. Remove old labels and ensure they are free from cracks or chips. Wash in hot soapy water and rinse. Preheat oven to 120 degrees celsius. Place jars (upright) and lids (separated from the jars) on an oven tray and heat in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove and fill immediately with preserves.
- Once marinated, the jar will store in the fridge for up to 6 months but almost guarantee they will be eaten before then!
My suggestion is to use sunflower or other light oil. I found olive and peanut oils solidify in the fridge. Love homemade marinated capsicum. The shop bought stuff does not compare. Highly recommend them.