I was determined to stick to only a few pickle and relish recipes, because, realistically, how many pickles can two people eat in a year? I had been relying on the cucumbers to provide refrigerator dill spears, and then added one dill pickle relish — to compliment the sweet zucchini relish that is such a favorite, and the sweet refrigerator zucchini pickle slices. But, when I came across this Sweet Heat recipe, I had to give it a try. Both my husband and I love the combination of sweet and spicy and, well, we still had a lot of cucumbers to use up!
Sweet Heat Pickle Relish
Ingredients
2 cups onion, chopped
1 cup green bell peppers, chopped
3 jalapenos, chopped (I will use more next time)
1/4 cup kosher salt
3-1/2 cups sugar (I will use less next time)
2 cups apple cider vinegar
1 Tbl celery seeds
1 Tbl mustard seeds (I will add more next time)
This recipe is an adaption of an adapted recipe. I will adapt it, again, next year. Cooking is a process and the road to perfection, an ever changing, joyful journey.
Instructions
Finely chop the cucumbers and onions. — Do not peel the cucumbers.
[Note: since I was using extra large cucumbers, that had been allowed to grow too large, I first cut them lengthwise and removed the seedy center. I did NOT use a food processor, as it would be too easy to over process the cucumbers and end up with soup. The cucumbers are quite easily chopped with a good chef’s knife.]
Place the chopped vegetables in a large nonreactive bowl and sprinkle with the 1/4 cup of Kosher salt. Stir well and allow to stand for one hour.
Drain the cucumber mixture and rinse with cold water. Drain off any excess water and set aside.
In a large pan, bring vinegar, sugar and seeds to a boil over medium high heat. Add the drained vegetable mixture and return to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 10 minutes.
Pack into sterilized jars, leaving a 1/2 inch head space. Process in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes, or store in the refrigerator.
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