Recipe(tried): Jalapenos y Verduras En Escabeche

Eva G.,
Here's a recipe that I got out of Barbara Hansen's Mexican Cookery. I've made it a lot of times and everyone just loves it.

Jalapenos y Verduras En Escabeche

Water
Salt
1/4 cup sliced celery
1/4 cup carrots
1/2 cup small cauliflowerets
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 medium onion, slivered
2 garlic cloves
1 cup white vinegar
1 small bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon dried leaf oregano, crushed
Pinch dried leaf thyme, crushed
8 peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (6 1/2 oz.) can jalapeno chiles (not pickled)

Bring 1 to 2 cups salted water to a boil in a small saucepan. Drop in celery and immediately remove with a slotted spoon. Drop in carrots and boil 4 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Bring another 1 to 2 cups salted water to a boil. Add cauliflowerets and boil 4 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water.

Heat oil in a medium saucepan. Add onion and garlic. Cook until onion is crisp-tender, but not browned. Add vinegar, bay leaf, oregano, thyme, peppercorns and salt. Simmer 5 minutes. Add jalapeno chiles with liquid, celery, carrots and cauliflowerets. Bring to a boil and remove from the heat. Spoon vegetables carefully into a clean hot jar. Cover with the hot liquid. Let cool; cover with a tight-fitting lid. Refrigerate 1 or 2 days before using to blend flavors. Oil in pickles will become cloudy in refrigerator. Let pickles stand at room temperature a few minutes before serving and cloudiness will disappear.

Serve as a sauce or as a side dish.

I used more of the carrot and cauliflower than what the recipe called for (like what I had at a Mexican restaurant) and cut them larger than what this recipe calls for. Very good. If you don't like the jalapenos, sub a milder green chile.

Bon Appetit!!!

Karol