Spicy Fennel Relish

When is is NOT canning season at our house? Seriously! I really do enjoy making everything from scratch and controlling ALL the ingredients that I put into the food that I consume. I was perusing my canning cookbooks and came across a fennel relish recipe. I decided to use this as the base and mix it up a little. The base recipe called for fennel and sweet onions. I wanted more of a kick, so I added the yellow and orange bell peppers, and much more spice then the recipe called for. The beauty of picking and canning, is pretty much you can put whatever whole types of spices you want into your base brine and experiment with flavor profiles and heat.



Slicing up the sweet onions.



Layering the sliced onions, fennel and peppers with canning salt. This was the start of the 24-hour water extraction process.



The next day, after the 24-hour salt extraction, I thoroughly rinsed the vegetables. Also in the background are yellow beets. I ended up canning this spicy fennel relish, pickled yellow beets in burgundy wine, and several jars of my take on Major Gray's spicy mango chutney.



Prepping my lids, sterilizing my jars, and starting the picking solution.



Cider and white wine vinegar mix (for best flavor)



Adding the salted "veg" to the pot to simmer down for a few minutes.



Adding poppy seeds, mustard seed, celery seed, pink peppercorns and other spices to name a few for the heat component.



Post cooking, and getting ready to ladle in to my prepared jars.



Pre water bath processing.



Post water bath processing. Yielded 11 half pints. Will make a excellent condiment to grilled meats, and probably a few holiday gifts this upcoming holiday season.

Dan's Spicy Fennel Relish

2 large sweet onions, thinly sliced
2 fennel bulbs, thinly sliced
2 bell peppers, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled & thinly sliced
3 TBS pickling salt
1 cup white wine vinegar
2 cups cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Red peppercorns (I used 6 per jar)
Mustard Seeds (I added to the brined vegetables)
Celery Seeds (I added to the brined vegetables)
Poppy Seeds (I added to the brined vegetables)
Fennel Seeds (I used about 12 per jar)

Directions:

Slice onions in half lengthwise, then in very thin slices crosswise to form half circles. Cut fennel bulbs in half lengthwise and remove core; thinly slice crosswise to form half circles. Cut bell peppers in half and thinly slice. Place onion slices, fennel slices and bell pepper slices in a non-reactive bowl and sprinkle with salt. Toss and let stand for 24 hours. Rinse twice and drain thoroughly.

Prep lids and sterilize jars. Meanwhile combine vinegars, water, and sugar in a medium size pot. Bring to a boil over high heat to ensure sugar dissolves, boil about 2 minutes. Add vegetables and garlic and whole spices and return just to a boil, stirring constantly for three more minutes. Remove from heat.

In the bottom of each sterilized jar add fennel seed and peppercorns to the bottom. Remove onion / fennel / pepper mixture vegetables from liquid with a pair of tongs and pack into hot jars using a plastic spatula. Pour liquid over vegetables leaving a 1/2 inch head space. Discard the rest of the brine. Also, distribute remaining whole spices, mustard, celery and poppy seeds, equally amongst jars. Clean rims, apply lids and rings.

Process 10 minutes for half-pint jars and 15 minutes for pint jars in a rolling boil. Allow to cool for 24 hours. Check for seals. Store sealed jars in a cool place.

Use relish within 12-16 months.