Pepper Jelly Vinaigrette (& Salad)

Once upon a time, I used to go to Costco and get the giant flats of strawberries and make freezers full of strawberry freezer jam. In the pectin box, there were recipes for other jams and jellies and I remember seeing pepper jelly. Being the Utah girl that I am (was? Do I still count as a Utah girl?), I had never heard of pepper jelly and it sounded horrific. I could not imagine a world in which eating pepper jelly would be okay, or how you’d eat it, or why you would ever want to eat it. Peanut butter and pepper jelly sandwiches? Pepper jelly on toast or waffles? No. Just no.

And then I moved to Louisiana and overcame my fear of spiders (there are bigger, badder critters that need to die…spiders are pretty low on my list), learned that “bless your heart” is almost never nice, and that pepper jelly is amazing.

Just to be clear, pepper jelly isn’t really for toast. Or peanut butter. I dunno, maybe it is for some people (bless their hearts), but the only times I’ve ever used or been served pepper jelly, it’s been in conjunction with something savory; the pepper jelly is sweet and spicy, so I’ve seen it in sauces and stir fries and served with cheeses (like this baked brie).

I recently went to dinner here with some friends and there was a salad with pepper jelly vinaigrette. The salad itself sounded good, but the resounding recommendation from everyone was no matter what I got, the pepper jelly vinaigrette would make it all worth it. And they were right–it was tangy and sweet and spicy, but not so spicy I couldn’t enjoy it–the perfect complement for the chicken and the salty feta crumbles and the sweet oranges.

I tweaked the salad a little at home–I added avocados and onions because the whole time, I kept thinking that onions were the one thing missing. I also added fresh oranges instead of Mandarin oranges because, you know, I’m so fancy.

For the dressing, the main thing  you’re going to need is pepper jelly. Now…I know pepper jelly may be hard to find if you don’t live in the land of pepper jelly. I used Tabasco pepper jelly here because it’s a national brand and you’re probably most likely to find this in your regular grocery store.

That said, it wasn’t my favorite. I’ve tried other brands (from the grocery store) as well as homemade jellies (or jellies from farmer’s markets) that I like better. But. If all else fails, there’s Tabasco.

If you have a World Market, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, etc., you’re very likely to find good brands there.

My favorites have probably come from local farmer’s markets, so if farmer’s markets are your thing, you might get lucky and find pepper jelly there (I had apple pepper jelly once that was pretty much one of the most delicious things I’d ever eaten.)

The other option is to make your own. Be a pepper jelly-making pioneer. Share the good news of pepper jelly with those who may not yet understand.

ANYWAY.

You’ll need pepper jelly. And apple cider vinegar (Bragg’s, if you can find it), a little Creole mustard (Walmart makes a great house brand called Great Value Coarse Grain Mustard), salt, pepper, garlic, a little onion, and some extra-virgin olive oil.

Place all the ingredients except the oil in the jar of a blender. Blend until smooth. While the blender is running, add the oil in a steady stream. Allow to stand for at least 1 hour before serving.

Now…to re-create the salad I had, you’ll need a plate of this…

And then top it with some of these:

and then some of these…

and these:

and some of these.

Sprinkle it with some feta…

Drizzle it with dressing and eat up right away!

It’s Ice Cream Weekend for your Boise-Area peeps!  Swing by one of the following locations to say hi to Sara and have a taste of her yummy new Ice Cream flavor, sold in Kroger family stores!