Recipe Thread

[kohala]

(This is easy to do, BTW.)

Ever get those delicious hot carrots at Mexican restaurants? We here in San Diego are lucky to be just north of Baja California (OK, you all know about Tijuana, right? There's a very good Cultural Center there!!) Like most national cuisines, Mexican is also very regional - so this is how I learned to make them here in the far west. By the way, these are very healthy, too; lots of vitamin C and A.

I will write this recipe for 5 Cups of carrots and you can take off from there! (I used to do them in 5 gallon condiment jars, but you can adjust the quantity of the ingredients according to the size jar you have. You will want a glass jar to marinate and store *them in!)

Ingredients:
*5 cups medium to large carrots, scrubbed, peeled, and sliced about 1/4 inch thick on a diagonal (keep only medium to ;large pieces for this recipe
*2 cups white onion, peeled and sliced 3/8 inch thick against the grain (making rings)
*1-2 large cloves garlic (sliced in quarters, lengthwise)
*5-8 bay leaves
*1 healthy bunch of cilantro (about a cup), stems cut way back (also known as Chinese mint and corriander, I believe, for the ingrediently challenged )
*10-15 fat jalapenos according to how hot you want it (I usually buy canned Ortega Brand whole jalapenos so I don't have to pre-cook them)
The marinade is approximate and you can adjust to taste:
1 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup canola oil
Water to cover when you jar them

Blanch or parboil the cut carrots and sliced onions, to where they just lose some of their crispness (do NOT overcook! They will mush in the process if you do.) Save the stock form this process.
(If you use fresh jalapenos, blanch them also, discarding the water.)

Put the carrots, onions, garlic, bay leaves, jalapenos and cilantro in a large jar, add the vinegar and oil, then pour the stock over everything until it is covered. Add hot water if necessary to complete this step.

Mix thoroughly then let stand loosely covered with a cloth to marinate.

After a day of marinating, test them for taste and texture. They should be warm to the tongue and firm, but not crisp or crunchy. I ususally let them stand two days before I start to use them. When they are fully flavored, put a lid on the jar and refrigerate. They will keep a long time as they have vinegar in them, but the longer you keep them, the hotter they get from the chilis!!

If they start to seem too hot, remove some or all of the peppers. Since I have pepper eaters in my home, I don't have to worry about this too much, but once I forgot about them for a month, and when I bit into one, I cleared out my sinuses for a week!!!!