Veggie Marinade

Okay, are we all good on infused oils? Time for a recipe.

Joseph's Spice Oil #1

3/4 cup veggie oil
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp whole peppercorns
1 tsp whole coriander seeds
1 tsp dried minced garlic
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
1/2 tsp whole allspice
1/4 tsp whole cumin

Combine and heat on medium low for about half an hour. Let cool, and then refrigerate overnight before straining. And need I tell you, the longer you keep the whole spices in there, the stronger it will get. Yields 1 cup of infused oil.

Now that you've got your infused oil, it's time to do something with it!

Joseph's Veggie Marinade #1

1 cup Joseph's Spice Oil #1, including spices
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp chipotle Tabasco
1 tsp Kosher salt
2 tsp chile powder
a few grinds black pepper

Whisk to combine, and then add to a zip-top bag with a few veggies. In my case, I roasted 6 red bell peppers under the broiler until they were well-charred, and then put them in a tightly covered bowl for a few minutes. They steamed themselves enough that when I took them out, I was able to easily peel off the skins. Now, I actually peel them myself instead of washing the char off. I just went to all that trouble to make all that flavor, the last thing I want to do is wash it down the sink! Cut the tops off and give 'em a slice down the side, so that you can get all those seeds out. Let them cool before sealing them up and marinating. I have them sitting in the fridge right now, soaking up some of that awesome marinade.

There's any number of other things you could use this marinade on. Chiles, yellow squash, zucchini, mushrooms, carrots, you name it. And since you're only marinating veggies with it, you could probably even reuse it a couple of times (obviously not something that I would recommend with meat marinades). Once my red bell peppers are marinated, I'll be able to call them pimientos. You have no idea how excited I am.