Preserving peppers and Aubergines

[Strawberry delight]

I have loads of swt and hot peppers coming but i dont know what to do with them all when they come, i already have the recipie for pepper ketchup (sounds yum!), but that it.

For the aubergine has anyone got a recipie for ratatouilli chutney? or any other good recipie.

Thanks

[Alison]

I don't usually get many aubergines but if I want to preserve them I simply slice and open freeze. You can then cook them from frozen in a bake or whatever. Sorry can't help with the chutney recipe though although you can usually use whatever you want in chutneys in a real mix and match way.

[rustylady]

Hot "chilli" peppers can be picked when ripe and threaded into a ristra. They then dry and can be kept like that for use later in the year. Try googling for recipes. Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall has a recipe for chilli jelly or jam, that is a real favourite with my family. Turns out like sweet chilli sauce and can be used in cooking or as an accompaniment to meals.

[Strawberry delight]

Hot "chilli" peppers can be picked when ripe and threaded into a ristra. They then dry and can be kept like that for use later in the year. Try googling for recipes. Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall has a recipe for chilli jelly or jam, that is a real favourite with my family. Turns out like sweet chilli sauce and can be used in cooking or as an accompaniment to meals.

I love sweet chilli sauce and i am sure to try this recipe once i find it. Do you know it? If so please could you send it! Thanks!

[Two_Sheds]

I love sweet chilli sauce and i am sure to try this recipe once i find it.

I Googled it

[wellie]

As far as homegrown aubergines are concerned, I'm a sucker for picking them small, as soon as they're black and shiny, dicing them and chucking them straight into a roasting tray of hot oil in the Rayburn. That way, they roast, concentrate all of their freshness and flavour and there's no room for anything else.

Once they're slightly caramelised, I cool them, fridge them overnight, then freeze them in useable quantities the following morning.
Right now, Aubergines are cheap(ish) in the Supermeerkats, whereas in the depths of the Winter, when you could well do with their unchioiusness, they're dead expensive, so if you've got room to roast'em'an'freeze'em...... personally, I'd be 'cramming them in'.

Honestly, I can't begin to tell you how many gorgeous Aubergine recipes there are in my cookery books................

[Farmer_Gyles]

sweet peppers can be sliced and frozen and then used in cooking in the normal way

if only my sweet peppers would give me sweet peppers ..........

[Hilary B]

A friend of mine used to dry peppers, but that was in Portugal. No idea how to get the result in UK (I assume any method that works for tomatoes....)
Cut them up first, once dry can be added to all sorts of stewish recipes (I like to add them to a curry for a bit of colour contrast, although the colour isn't as bright as from fresh ones, but you still get the red or green in there).

[binley100]

I've just made a really nice Aubergine pickle , also just tried the same recipe but with my gherkin glut .
• 2kg aubergine / eggplant cut into 2cm dice
• 125g green chillies chopped
• 2 garlic cloves crushed
• 600ml white wine or cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp chilli powder
• 2 tsp ground turmeric
• 310ml sesame oil
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• 1tbsp fenugreek seeds
• 2 tbsp salt
• 250g sugar
• 5cm piece ginger finely grated (reserving juice)
Method
Mix the garlic and ground spices with 1 tbsp vinegar to form a paste. Heat the sesame oil and fry the whole spices for a minute. Add the spice paste and stir over a low heat till oil floats on top. Add all the remaining ingredients and again stir over a low heat till oil floats on top.
Decant to sterilised jars, seal and store somewhere dark and cool.
Leave for one month before using