posted by Marlen 09-28-100 10:32 AM
Canning Sweet Peppers
Makes about 3 pints
3 lbs. sweet peppers
1 TBS. salt
3 cups white wine vinegar
6 cloves garlic
6 sprigs fresh rosemary
9 bay leaves
2 TBS. black peppercorns
about 3 Cups good quality fruity olive oil
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. You can also do this over a charcol grill. Arrange the peppers in a shallow pan or on a grill rack and roast turning to color evenly, until black on all sides. This should take 3-4 minutes per side. Put peppers into a plastic bag and close top; let stand to let skins steam and loosen. Remove from bag and peel and core peppers and remove seeds. Rinse and pat dry.
In a small saucepan, combine salt and vinegar and bring to boil. Meanwhile put the roasted peppers in a clean, stainless steel or ceramic bowl. Pour in hot vinegar to cover and top with plastic wrap. Let stand at room temp overnight.
The next day drain off vinegar and remove peppers. Drain and pat dry. Pack them into sterilized jars forming layers or red and yellow and tucking in garlic cloves, bay leave, rosemary sprigs and peppercorns as you go. Pour in olive oil to cover. As you add the oil slide a knife between the peppers and the jar to break any air pockets and to make sure the oil penetrates fully.
Top with tight fitting lids. Store in a cool dark place for one week. At the end of the week, retrieve and discard the garlic cloves. Store in the refrigerator where they will keep for three months.
You can process them in a hot water bath for 30 minutes in sterilized jars and cool for 12 hours before storing. But I find that the peppers loose a lot of color during processing.