Sweet-Hot Zucchini Relish

This is a great option if you find one of those forgotten, and grossly over-sized, zucchinis when cleaning out the garden in the fall. Zucchini is a blank slate summer squash that can take the character of whatever you pair with it in a recipe. Here we substituted our usual go to relish ingredient (cucumber) for zucchini. Enjoy.

Ingredients

  • 8c finely chopped zucchini
  • 3 medium(2 large) sized onions finely chopped
  • 2-3 colored sweet peppers(or mix in a hot pepper or 2)
  • 3Tbsp pickling salt
  • 1 1/2c sugar
  • 1c cider vinegar
  • 2tsp celery seed
  • 1tsp ground mustard
  • 1tsp hot pepper flakes(just a guideline)
  • 1tso tumeric

Directions

  1.  After chopping zucchini, onion, and peppers, combine in a saucepan.
  2. Add pickling salt and mix well. Then let stand for 1 hr.
  3. Thoroughly drain the veggies and then rinse and drain again.
  4. Add the remaining ingredients to your drained veggies and mix well.
  5. Bring mixture to a boil then reduce heat to simmer for 20 minutes.
  6. Ladle into sterile canning jars to within 1/2 inch of the rim and seal. This recipe makes about 2 1/2 to 3 pints of relish depending on how much you eat before canning it.
  7. If you wish, place jars into a boiling canner and boil half pint jars for 10 minutes or pint jars for 15 minutes

Note: I have found that your relish is hot enough when you place it in the jars, they will self-seal as they cool without time spent in the canner, but that is completely up to you.