Basil Inferno

I am currently blessed with a glut of ready basil and hot peppers.  I have made and frozen more batches of pesto than I need for the year, and while I do have plans to make large amounts of salsa, none of my tomatoes are keeping pace with the peppers.  I've been blanching, mincing and freezing the peppers for later use, but after a foray into the hoop house this afternoon, I discovered three more jalepenos and two large Hungarian hot wax peppers.  Oh,  my.

What is a girl to do?

Whip up a batch of fiery jelly, of course!

Taking a recipe from the Ball Canning Bible that I read like a novel this time of year, I decided to try a batch of Basil (Hot) Pepper Jelly.  I modified it a bit, as I had no fresh red chile peppers on hand, but I think it is going to be fantastically hot.  I do love a hot jelly.  They make a great condiment for savory tarts, or on top of cream cheese or chevre-laden crackers.  Mmmmmm-hmmmmm yummy!

Cris' Many Pepper Hot Jelly

You'll need:  three or four large Hungarian hot wax peppers; three jalepeno peppers; four or five dried red chile peppers; one small or half a large red onion; a handful of basil leaves; 3/4 cup white or cider vinegar; 3 cups of granulated sugar; and one pouch of liquid pectin.

Slice the hot wax peppers into thin rings.  Mince the jalepenos finely, and with a sharp knife whack the dried chiles into small bits.  I never seed my peppers, as I like this jelly to be really hot.  Mince the onion finely as well.  Roll the basil leaves together into a little wad, and then slice the leaves into thin ribbons. Put the peppers, onion, basil, and vinegar into a large nonreactive pot.  Stir in sugar, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Add pectin, bring to a boil and boil hard, stirring constantly, for one minute.  Remove from heat, and skim off any foamy bits.  Pour into prepared jars (my batch made two pints), top with hot lids and tighten the bands.  Process in a water bath for 10 minutes.  Cool for about 10 minutes, then swirl the jars gently to disperse the veg pieces in suspension (otherwise, they float to the top!)

Eat with caution, this stuff is nasal-passage-in-flames-HOT!