Big Renny’s Special Hot Pepper Mix
This wax-type chile originated in Hungary and was brought to the US in the 1930’s. Yellow chiles of several different varieties are a staple in Eastern European cuisine. These chiles can be pickled, battered and fried or used in salsas and salads.Hungarian Wax chiles have alot of flavor without the bitter aftertaste that you can get from many of the green types of chile. Try substituting some of these in your chile recipes next time.
Ingredients:
30 Hungarian Yellow Hot Wax Peppers, cut off stems and cut peppers in half from end to end
1/2 cup olive oil
6 large cloves garlic, chopped
1-1/2 Spanish onions, chopped
black pepper
garlic salt
Italian seasoning
6 large tomatoes, diced or (2-8 oz. cans of diced tomatoes w/ Italian seasoning and green peppers)
2 bags of fresh spinach
Instructions:
In a large skillet, place 1/2 cup of premium olive oil on low heat, (allows for plenty of bread dipping later)
Add the chopped onions and garlic, and cook until lightly browned. Place the peppers in a skillet along with the seeds. Shake a liberal amount of black pepper, garlic salt and Italian seasoning. Add the tomato mixture, bringing the heat up to medium until the mixture boils for a couple of minutes. Slow cook for at least an hour with frequent stirring. Do not burn the bottom of the skillet.
Place the bags of spinach on top of the mix and let it cook down with frequent stirring.
Pepper mix will taste hotter the day of cooking that it will after being refrigerated–so keep that in mind.
Variations:
If mix is not hot enough for your taste–add dried cayenne peppers and allow to cook in.
If mixture is too hot–add 8 oz. tomato sauce.
If mixture is too hot–melt Asiago or other Italian cheeses to the mix. Ive even used American cheese. The cheeses can enhance the taste even if its not too hot. If I have it–I use the cheese rind in the mix when cooking and take it out before serving.
If mixture is too hot–add 2 Tbsp. of sugar into the mix.
I sometimes use spaghetti sauce in lieu of tomato sauce or if it is too watery–use a small can of tomato paste.
I sometimes put up to 20% green bell peppers into the mix, if the peppers are too hot or even for a little color or variation of taste.
I sometimes precook hot or mild sausage or even ground beef (then drain it) and further cook it into the mix.
Recipe by Renny Todd, Pottstown, PA