Stuffed Chilies in oil

[FoodMan]

Frika are green wheat kernels whose outer skin/peel has been burned off. They have a woodsy smoky taste and can be used like Burgul or rice. Hopefully someone else might have a more accurate or scientific explanation .

Elie

[FoodMan]

I figure that the vinegar would acidify the jars to the point any possible botulin issues would be prevented, but am wondering if the chiles might shield the inner stuffing from the vinegar.  It would seem the stuffing is not very acidic to start...

Always get concerned when fresh veggies are stored in oil...

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This got me thinking, we could make the stuffing a little more acidic if we mix a little vinegar with the rest of the ingredients. I cannot imagine it will have any adverse effect on the taste, it might even improve on it.

Thanks for the tip Mark

Elie

[Smithy]

Well, here's an update. After a week the peppers were indeed beginning to change color, and after 2 they'd gone a much duller green. I didn't get around to taking a photo until after 3 weeks. The light was different but the photos still clearly shows the color change if you compare it to my first photo. Here they are:

Last night I opened the smaller jar and tried one. Ooh, I like these!

The stuffed peppers were sweet and tart - there was some salt, a little heat from the dried chile, and a sweet tartness both from the vinegar and the peppers themselves. The nut stuffing tasted great. I think next time I may try either salted dry roasted peanuts or, for a completely different taste, walnuts.

When the jar is empty, I'm going to have some fine-tasting olive oil.

The peppers are still a bit crunchy and tended to crack when I sliced them. Will they keep getting softer?

Thanks for the recipe, Elie!

Nancy

Edited for spelling, and to add: at least some of that oil will be used as a dipping oil. Wow, I can hardly wait to get home to some good bread.

Edited November 5, 2004 by Smithy (log)

[FoodMan]

Thanks for the update and the pictures. I am very glad you liked them. They will keep on getting soft however, once the oil level drops below the top of the pepper I usually refrigerate them since they can get moldy. In my case I kind of prefer them a little on the crunchy side though.

Elie

[joiei]

Well, it is that time of the year. Our first frost is being predicted for Friday. So I went and picked all the remaining peppers from my 4 little bushes. I got a gallon of peppers, can you believe that? I put up 8 jars of the stuffed chili's. I will edit to add the pictures of the finished jars. I made enough to share one (and only one) jar with davebr with I go to Shreveport this weekend. And now for the rest of those peppers, I have already put up 12 jars for the house. Now I get to give the rest away. Hopefully, I have enough to get through the winter.

[joiei]

omg, Elie, these things are wonderful. I just remembered them and am blown away. They have had time for the heat to be dissapated somewhat, but the flavor is trememdous. Now I did do mine with jalapenos, so there is some kick, and the garlic has just mellowed right out. The nuts are still crunchy even though the peppers are not. Next year, i will use hatch peppers. I have enough to put out for holiday parties. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.

[FoodMan]

omg,  Elie,  these things are wonderful.  I just remembered them and am blown away.  They have had time for the heat to be dissapated somewhat, but the flavor is trememdous.  Now I did do mine with jalapenos, so there is some kick, and the garlic has just mellowed right out.  The nuts are still crunchy even though the peppers are not. Next year, i will use hatch peppers.  I have enough to put out for holiday parties.  Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.

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It's great that you enjoyed them so much! How did you serve them? On their own or as a salad?

Elie

[DocDougherty]

This is a bit late to the party, but I found a 1979 paper on botulinum growth and toxin formation at pH values below 4.6, so somebody found a way to grow it, but the growth conditions in the reference seem irrelevant to the case at hand -

 

"growth and toxin formation by C. botulinum can take place in homogeneous protein rich substrates (containing 3% or more soya or milk protein) at pH values lower than 4.6"

 

In this recipe, the vinegar will get the pH rather lower than 4.6, though I would make sure that all of the peppers protrude into the vinegar and have a surface that is conducive to vinegar absorption, remembering that the vinegar will be on the bottom and the oil on the top.  I would also prep the peppers by torching them to char and then remove the shiny outer skin (which is pretty impervious to both oil and vinegar).  Torching also makes the peppers soft enough to be flexible so that a small spoon will easily fit down into the part where you are trying to remove the seeds.  I can also envision a long handled, sharp edged spoon with a rounded end that might be made by grinding down the business end of an ice tea spoon and bending it over just enough to make it into a usable scraper.  I have one that is a bit larger that I use to remove seeds from winter squash and melons and papaya.  For this use I would suggest a blade radius of no more than ~5mm.  A bar spoon might be another good place to start.

 

For a slightly smaller individual serving size, you might look at using a yellow Fresno chile (mostly because of its size) but they are pretty mild so adding some finely chopped Serrano chile to the filling would be essential.

 

Edited September 26, 2018 by DocDougherty
insert link pointing to a suitable bar spoon (log)