Jarred Condiments and Open Faced Sandwiches

I always keep must have condiment jars in the fridge or in the food cupboard when I cook. I find that when I have these condiments of pickled red onions, roasted bell peppers and pickled lemons, I can pretty much put together any tasty dishes.

For lunch one day, I made some open faced sandwiches, and I used jarred condiments for each of my sandwich. By adding one or two of jarred condiments to a sandwich, you’re going to get good balance of flavors. I ended up making a salami & provolone sandwich topped with pickled onions, roasted bell pepper sandwich with pickled lemons and one with basil and roasted bell peppers with sardines.

Wooden Serving Boards

To serve my sandwiches, I’m using one of my wooden serving boards I bought few years ago. Wooden serving boards have become so popular both in restaurants and at home. They are so rustic and perfect for sandwiches, flatbreads, charcuterie, or to serve grilled or barbecued meats or vegetables. I also like that you can find these boards pretty much in any kitchen and home accessories store or online.

Pickled Red Onions and Pickled Lemons

Jarred condiments like pickled red onions and pickled lemons are a a great way to add acid in your dishes and they are so easy to make.

I usually make two large jars of pickled onions, since I always use plenty of it for sandwiches or salads. Aside from mixing these onions into my salad, I even use several tablespoons of the vinegar for dressing. Apple cider vinegar used for these pickles gives it a perfect balance of sweet and sour flavor. In a fridge they will keep for couple of months but I use it so much that my jars do not last that long.

Pickled lemons are wonderful condiment and are used to marinade meat, chicken, fish, and a great flavor enhancer for almost any dish. Its been used in traditional cooking in Morocco and Greece but it has also become explosively popular in countries like Japan. Chefs and home cooks in Japan add pickled lemons in pasta, curry and even sushi.

You can chop or mince the pickled lemons to use in your dish or what I also do is puree the pickled lemons so I can use it for a marinade or incorporate it in a sauce. They are long lasting and these lemons will last six months to a year.

Roasted Bell Peppers

Out of the three jarred condiments, roasted peppers are the most time consuming when it comes to prepping them to be jarred because I roast so many, but it’s totally worth the time and effort to have jars full of sweet plump peppers. Cooking them is easy; I always roast them using my barbecue grill. I place a tin foil over my grill, put my peppers and pour olive oil over them and in about 20 minutes over high heat, I get a pile of roasted peppers. As for the precious juice that seeps out of them, I make sure I scoop up every ounce of this juice. Juice will marinade the peppers once its jarred and I will sometimes use several table spoons of this juice to sweeten and thicken my tomato sauce or soups. They also keep well and last about 1-2 weeks in the fridge.

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Roasted Bell Peppers

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Equipment

• Two 32 ounce jars

Ingredients

• 8-10 red, yellow or orange bell peppers
• ½ cup olive oil

Instructions

• Take a sheet of aluminum foil, set it on a grill and pour olive oil on the aluminum. Turn on your grill in high heat (temperature should be around 300° to 350°).
• Place bell peppers on the aluminum foil making sure to roll the bell peppers in olive oil. Turn the peppers over every 5-6 minutes to ensure all dimensions, including top and bottom of the peppers are roasted and the skin is charred.
• After bell peppers are roasted, set it aside to cool. Once they are cooled, peel off charred skin, take out stems, seeds and cut peppers in vertical strips. Keep the juice that will seep from the peppers.
• Layer the strips of peppers in tight plastic container or in a jar and pour the juice over the peppers.

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Pickled Lemons

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Ingredients

• 6-7 Organic lemons
• ½ cup Sea salt

Instructions

• Slice lemons into quarters and remove seeds.
• Place sliced lemons at the bottom of the jar then sprinkle with salt. Repeat process until jar is filled.

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Pickled Red Onions

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time3 minutes mins

Equipment

• 1 32 ounce jar

Ingredients

• 2 medium red onions, thinly sliced
• 2 cups apple cider vinegar

Instructions

• Bring medium pot with water to a boil. Add onions to the pot and boil for 2-3 minutes.
• Take onions out of boiling water and drain. While onions are still hot, transfer onions to a medium size bowl and pour apple cider vinegar. Let the onions soak in the vinegar and let it cool.
• Once onions have cooled, transfer onions and vinegar into sanitized, air tight jars. Keep jars refrigerated.