Here’s yet another spicy pickle to serve as a side to your fav curry dishes or as in my case, with Chicken Pelau. Using freshly harvested hot peppers from my garden as the growing season comes to an end, it was an excellent use of the final produce for 2024. While these pickled peppers can be used immediately, the remainder will keep for months in the fridge and warm me up during those cold winter nights in Canada.
Notes! It’s important that you wear gloves and wash your hands immediately after with soap and water when handling such hot peppers. May I suggest that you follow along with the video below as much more about the recipe is discussed there. Especially which variety of peppers you may use.
Wash and prep everything.
In a bowl, place the peppers, garlic and bitter melon (we say Carilie in the Caribbean).
Spread the thinly sliced onion on the top, then sprinkle on the salt. As explained in the video, this will take away some of the direct rawness of the onion. You may let it sit like this for 20 minutes or proceed immediately.
Pour the lemon juice over everything and give it a good mix. You may use lime juice or white vinegar if you don’t have lemon juice. Please try to use freshly squeezed juice and not the bottle stuff for best results.
You may use this immediately and store the remainder in a sealed glass jar in the fridge for a few months. Keep in mind that the acid from the citrus will continue to soften everything as it age and some of the ‘heat’ will be lost during that time. Treat it as you would any spicy condiment and NOT as a dish itself.
While you may find versions of this pickled pepper throughout the Caribbean, I just love how we have slight nuances in the way we treat scotch bonnet peppers (pepper sauce) from island to island. That said, this is uniquely Jamaican and yet I found different versions of this spicy goodness at every home and restaurant I visited from Montego Bay, to Negril, To Ochie to Kingston.
You’ll Need…
10 – 15 scotch bonnet peppers (sliced) 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon pimento berries (allspice) 1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns 1 large onion (sliced) 1 Chayote (ChoCho / Christophene) 1 large carrot (sliced thin) Vinegar – white (about 2-3 cups) 4 slices of ginger (sliced)
Important! Be sure to wear gloves when handling such hot peppers and wash your hands immediately after with soap and water.
Wash the peppers and slice them thinly. I included the seeds from the peppers as I personally like pickled peppers as hot and spicy as I can get it. Peel and core the Chayote and cut into thin strips like fries. You may also leave on the green skin if you wish, I just find that it absorbs sort of brine better with the skin off.
Peel the carrot and slice into thin wheels and do the same for the onion, but slice a bit thicker. Remember you can use any white onion instead of a red onion… if that’s all you have.
You’ll notice that I used slices of ginger, that is just my way.. as I do like the flavor you get from that fresh ginger. Basically all you have to do now is to layer in the ingredients (push down to tuck in) into a clean glass jar… top with the sugar and salt, then pour on the vinegar. As you pour the vinegar it will dilute the sugar and salt.
Give it a few days to cure and for the flavors to blend together nicely, then enjoy. This will last for weeks in a cool shaded space on your kitchen counter, as the vinegar will act as a preservative. The vibrant colors will fade, but that is normal as time goes on. NOTE: I don’t like warming my vinegar, but you will see some people do so (warm, not boil).
If you can, please support. And should you have questions about this recipe or anything food related, be sure to Ask Chris.
The Caribbean is flooded with pepper sauces and condiments of all kinds as it’s simply part of our culinary culture. The textures, heat level, ingredients, ways of preserving and overall vibrancy of them all are unique to the maker and individual island. In Trinidad and Tobago you’ll find a lot of chutneys and amchars, while in Barbados you’ll hear the locals boast about their peppersauce. As someone who consider myself an aficionado of anything hot and spicy, it must be said that Haitian Pikliz is at the top of my list when it comes to spicy condiments.
The slight crunch of the vegetables, the heat from the thinly sliced scotch bonnet peppers and the flavors the vinegar (takes on) which is use to bring it all together is just outstanding (after marinating for about a week or so).
This recipe is dedicated to the beautiful people of Haiti.
You’ll Need…
2 cups shredded cabbage
1 large carrot
1 cup bell pepper (green, orange, red)
1 onion
2 scallions
6 scotch bonnet peppers
4 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon salt
12-14 peppercorns
2 cups vinegar (see note)
1/2 lime juice
* 4 cloves (traditionally used)
Note: Add enough vinegar to cover the ingredients in the storage container. Allow to marinate for about 5 days before use. I was out of cloves, but it’s a traditional ingredient used in making this lovely pickle, so I would recommend using.
This is a very simple recipe to put together as it involves a couple steps and some patience (to marinate). Start off by slicing the cabbage very thinly, same for the all the other ingredients. You may be tempted to use a food processor, but I would suggest you don’t. The food processor may overwork the vegetables and you won’t get that unique size/shape pikliz is supposed to have. Grate the carrot and diced the garlic very fine.
Place all the sliced ingredient sin a large bowl .. large enough so you can easily mix everything easily without spilling all over the place. Also mix in the salt, pepper corns and cloves.
Get a fairly large glass bottle and pack in everything, then all you have to do is top with the vinegar, cover and set aside to marinate. You can certainly begin using right away, but if you give it about five days to marinate and really take on the flavors of everything you’ll be rewarded with the best pikliz you’ve ever had.
Since we used vinegar as the base, it will act as a preservative so you don’t have to worry about it going bad if you don’t store it in the fridge. However, if you do store it in the fridge it can last months. But be aware that some the heat will be lost the longer it stays in the fridge. Now if only I had some Griot to accompany this Pikliz!
Before you go, don’t forget to check out the latest cooking videos, connect with me on twitter and join our community on facebook. oh yea! leave me a comment below – it’s appreciated.
The Caribbean is flooded with pepper sauces and condiments of all kinds as it’s simply part of our culinary culture. The textures, heat level, ingredients, ways of preserving and overall vibrancy of them all are unique to the maker and individual island. In Trinidad and Tobago you’ll find a lot of chutneys and amchars, while in Barbados you’ll hear the locals boast about their peppersauce. As someone who consider myself an aficionado of anything hot and spicy, it must be said that Haitian Pikliz is at the top of my list when it comes to spicy condiments.
The slight crunch of the vegetables, the heat from the thinly sliced scotch bonnet peppers and the flavors the vinegar (takes on) which is use to bring it all together is just outstanding (after marinating for about a week or so).
This recipe is dedicated to the beautiful people of Haiti.
Ingredients
Instructions
Video
Place Green Cabbage (2 cup), Scotch Bonnet Pepper (6), Assorted Color Bell Peppers (1 cup), Onion (1), Carrot (1), and Scallion (1 bunch) in the mixing bowl.
Add in the Peppercorns (12), Salt (1 teaspoon), and Garlic (4 clove).
Add some juice from the Lime (1/2) by squeezing over the bowl, then toss everything together.
Get a fairly large glass bottle and pack everything in, then top with Distilled White Vinegar (2 cup). Cover and set aside to marinate. Let sit for 4 to 5 days before using.
This can be served with your favorite meat dish, soup or whatever savory dish you think could use some heat!
