Canned Mini Red Bell Peppers with Garlic and Basil

With all these fantastic farmers markets all around that offer freshly harvested foods daily, you really don’t need to grow your own food to put summers flavours in your plate. These mini red bell peppers preserves are the perfect example. There is no better way to capture the Summer’s flavors and provide good food for your family in the off-season. These peppers taste great on hot dogs, hamburgers, tapas or whatever appetizer of your choice!

Ingredients list for the canned mini peppers

Makes 3 jars:

• 15 of these beautiful mini red bell peppers
• A clove of garlic
• Salt and ground pepper
• A great fruity olive oil
• A few fresh basil leaves

Directions

Make sure your jars are well sterilized beforhand. Here’s some tips to do so.

1. Put the peppers on a baking dish covered with aluminum foil or parchment paper and bake in a preheated 210°F (100°C) oven for about 10 minutes. That’s enough for their skin to blacken and blister.

2. Let cool slightly before peeling and seeding (some of you might prefer seeding before baking, that’s ok).

3. Peel the garlic and cut into small pieces. Put the mini peppers in your jars, add a few pieces of garlic, a few washed basil leaves, pack it well and pour olive oil to cover the peppers.

4. Marinate at least overnight before serving… Otherwise, you can proceed with your usual canning method and keep your mini red bell preserves for months. Who said that when it was simple, it was not great anyway? Enjoy the remaining scented oil with fresh bread to dip directly into the jar!