Jalapeño Pepper Paste: Recipe From Scraps
How Much Do You Like Jalapeños?
Do you like jalapeño peppers? I mean, do you really like jalapeño peppers?
Well, I do! I like them, fresh, dried, pickled, canned, and sliced. I like them in salsas, sandwiches, soups, salads, casseroles, and as a garnish on just about anything.
I enjoy the way the peppers lie on top of my tongue and slowly start to burn. The burn continues down my throat and settles in my stomach, where it slowly spreads and jerks my whole body into high gear, forcing sweat to pop out on my brow and tears to well up in my eyes.
When I occasionally bite into that rare jalapeño that has a heat index closer to a habanero, I'll have to reach for the closest beer, soda, water—or whatever I can find to quell the fire in my mouth. And I like the way others laugh when I have to grab that beer.
How to Use Jalapeño Scraps
One day, when we were making one of my favorite dishes to take to a party, I had an epiphany.
I looked at the bar where I was working, and I suddenly realized how much of the jalapeño I was wasting. (Actually, I noticed because of the "polite" reprimand my wife gave me over the mess I was making.)
After a little experimenting, I ended up with this fantastic recipe that uses all of the scraps I'd normally throw away—the ribs, seeds, and stem ends. The resulting paste is great, and the spicy flavor will knock your socks off, literally!
Now that I have this powerful paste to use in my favorite spicy dishes, I am always ready to kick things up in the flavor department. Whenever I’m cooking a dish that needs a little kick, I can reach into the freezer and break off a small piece of my frozen paste, throw it into the still-cooking dish, and, well . . . wow!
I can proudly say, eat this paste at your own risk!
Cook Time
Ingredients
- 20 large, fresh jalapeño peppers
- 1 medium whole garlic bulb
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 2 tablespoons black pepper, roughly ground
- approximately 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Trim the stem ends of the jalapeños. Set aside.
- Cut the peppers in half, remove the seeds and ribs, and set aside. (Reserve the greens themselves for use in another recipe.)
- Peel the whole head of garlic and chop up all of the cloves.
- In a medium saucepan, heat the extra virgin olive oil.
- Add the garlic to the pan and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, taking care not to burn the garlic.
- Add the salt and pepper to the pan and blend; then remove the pan from the heat.
- In a blender, add the jalapeño scraps (seeds, ribs, and stem ends) along with about 2 tablespoons of water. Blend for about 1 minute.
- Add the contents of the saucepan into the blender and puree for about 2 minutes, or until it forms into a thick paste.
- Transfer the paste into a plastic sandwich bag. Remove all of the air from the bag before sealing (lay the filled bag flat on the counter and squeeze out as much air as possible).
- Place the sandwich bag in a flat position in the freezer so that the paste will maintain an even thickness throughout (should be about a 1/4-inch thick). This will make it easy for you to break off pieces when you need them.
- When desired, remove the bag from the freezer and break off a piece of the frozen paste. Add the frozen paste to whatever dish you are cooking, and enjoy the heat!
Photo Guide
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Chef's Notes
- This paste is great for adding a spicy flavor to almost any dish.
- The paste will be ready for you any time. Just break off a piece from the freezer, and you're good to go.
- Take care when handling the final paste mixture. If you get your nose too close, it will actually take your breath away.
- When I'm cooking a recipe that calls for jalapeño, I often collect the scraps in a sealable plastic bag and make this paste two or three days later, at my convenience.
What? Is this paste too hot for you? People, this recipe is essentially pure jalapeño—with the addition of a full head of garlic! What did you expect?
Nutritional Information (per 1 tbsp)
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving size: 1 tbs | |
| Calories | 27 |
| Calories from Fat | 18 |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Fat 2 g | 3% |
| Carbohydrates 2 g | 1% |
| Cholesterol 0 mg | |
| Sodium 1 mg | |
| * The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA. | |
This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.
Questions & Answers
Comments
AUTHORSounds Delicious!
Healthy, Spicy and good for your system?? LOL?
Have a great day!
DON
I used to make a dip starting with mashed avacardo, followed with Jalepeno paste. on top of that was diced tomatoes, sliced olives, sour cream and sprinkled with cheese.
- AUTHOR
Ethel - Oh Yes! It is Spicy, but you can control how much "heat" you use by the size of the paste you add to your recipe.
Good Luck,
DON
Might be a bit spicy for maybe but maybe not.
Thanks Don
Tasty!
- AUTHOR
Lucy - I would recommend using 12-15 medium to large sized Jalapeno's. Let me know how it turns out for you?
DON
How many jalepenos should I use for this recipe if I'm using whole ones and not scraps?
- AUTHOR
dianetrotter- Sorry! My Bad!
EVOO is the common abbreviation for Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
I tend to use Olive Oil almost exclusively for its health benefits. And, I NEVER use CANOLA OIL. It is a dangerous Oil concoction originating in Canada. Look it up.
DON
EVOO? Don, what is that?
- AUTHOR
Ruchira- Great Idea, the Mint! I might try that myself with my next batch. That's the thing about a basic recipe like this, you can fine-tune it to your own tastes and make it your own. Thanls for the response.
Hi Don,
Liked your wonderful recipe and I might try making it. To sober it a little...I might also crush some mint into it.
voted up as useful/informative
- AUTHOR
Yes, the Popper Recipe is in my new Blog called A FRUGAL CHEF. You should see it referenced with a link on this Hub.
And, take care with this on a sandwich, it is pretty potent. I suggest that after you make it, that you taste a very small sample. Just to be careful.
Thanks for the read.
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This sounds great for quesadillas and sandwiches! Do you have the jalapeño popper recipe too? I guess I'll look on your profile. I may have to become a follower!
- AUTHOR
Yeah, I switched over about 2-weeks ago. I think the before and after are part of the confusion. I'm watching the whole thing evolve. Take Care and good luck!
Hey, have you done a "sub domain" switch yet? I think it's helped me some.
- AUTHOR
I wish I could get more comments from more people on my Blogs. I welcome them. I want to get comments, suggestions, and even other peoples favorite recipes.I have been Hubbing and Blogging for almost two years, and I have accepted that I do this for either self entertainment or self flagellation,.I just haven't figured out which, Yet! Thanks again for responding!
I followed feenix here from my feed. I bounced every button but "funny" on the way to the comment section.
I've got burning nostrils right this moment. I'm dicing jalapenos and Serranos for my pico mix. I freaking love those peppers. I have nothing but heartache and sadness for those persons who can't enjoy them as much as I do!
Hello, Don,
That does sound like a great project and, in the meantime, I am going to pay a visit to your blog site. I'll leave a comment or two ;-)
- AUTHOR
Thanks feenix, for the kind response. I have a bunch of spicy recipes that I have to dig out and clean up that I will add to my Hubs and to my Blog "afrugalchef.blogspot.com" soon. Like everyone else, most of my recipes are on scraps of paper stuck in shoe boxes, and I am not Mr. Neat. Sounds like a great project, Huh?
Hello Don Bobbitt,
Largely because I am a native of Southern California (Los Angeles, to be exact) I really do like jalapeno peppers. Thus, I really did enjoy reading this post and got some new ideas when it comes to enjoying that wonderful delicacy.
Heh, great idea! I never would of thought of using the scraps of peppers that way. Awesome hub. I'll be trying this out on my other peppers as well and see how it works out.
- AUTHOR
We need a forum/group called "Burning Asses! or Pain is my Name!" or some such where we HOT food lovers can support each others Spicy food habits and recipes?
WOW! I eat peppers just about with EVERY meal ,and this is a fabulous idea! , you have managed to find a resoulution to any mess and waste ! yayy! i love this and i will be trying this very very soon! thanks for sharing your amazing idea and recipe ! wow!!!! voted up and awesome and interesting and if there were any more buttons you would get those too!! :)
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