Hot and Spicy Red Pepper Marmalade

This hot and spicy red pepper marmalade makes such a nice change from the usual orange, lime or lemon varieties and it’s so versatile too.

 hot and spicy red pepper marmalade

The winter months are the perfect season for making marmalade, usually the citrus type. Marmalade brings brightness and colour to a bleak and dark landscape and a wee bit of joy, zingyness and downright good taste into our lives.

I have to admit that this winter has proven rather hard for me, hence lack of posts of late, and I find it a struggle to cope sometimes. Depression hasn’t just got the better of me, this time it rather grabbed me by the throat, threw me down and dragged me off to hospital.

Sunshine and warmth are needed, I need colour too.

I made this hot and zesty red pepper marmalade the other day just to gather up at least the colours of sunshine and some of those tastes I think of as happy, bright and summery.

Marmalade Season

This is the marmalade season and one should of course look for Seville oranges if one is going for the real stuff, but for a mixture of flavours I find any orange will do. Marmalade can be a mixture of all sorts of fruits and even veggies, just as long as there is some citrus lurking in there somewhere.

This red pepper marmalade made me smile just spreading this on my toast.

It tasted sweet and tart with just a hint of fire.

And it brightened up my day.

 Red Pepper Marmalade

Ingredients for red pepper marmalade

• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 orange
• 1 lemon
• water
• 500g/1lb 2oz sugar
• 1 teaspoon crushed red chilli flakes

How to make red pepper marmalade

• Scrub the citrus fruits to remove any preservative wax and rinse the pepper and pat dry.
• Remove the stalk from the pepper, cut into rough chunks and remove the membranes inside as this is bitter.
• Slice the orange into about eight chunks and the lemon into 4 pieces.
• Put all this fruit into a food processor and pulse till you get it all to form little pieces. Don’t go all out and make it into a puree, you want to still have little chunks of fruit in there.
• Put the fruit into a jug and measure out the same quantity in water.
• Add the dried chilli flakes and put the fruit and water into a heavy based pan and bring it to the boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for 20-30 minutes until the fruit is tender.
• Remove from heat, cover with a clean tea towel and let it sit overnight.
• Next day add the sugar to the pan and heat gently until this has completely dissolved.
• Raise the temperature to a boil and let it bubble away until it reaches the setting point, about 10 minutes.
• spoon carefully into sterilised jars and pop on the lids.

How much marmalade does this make

As with most of my Larder Love goodies I only made a small batch, just 4 small jars. More than enough to keep me going and to give one away as a gift too.

Enjoy a bit of warmth and sunshine on these dark winter days.

How to serve red pepper marmalade

You can have this marmalade on toast for breakfast or as part of a toasted cheese sandwich. It is great with a cheeseboard and excellent with cold meats too.

Or why not water it down a little and paint on to gammon or pork as a glaze when roasting. It works well with chicken too.

This super easy recipe is one of over 50 recipes in my Naughty and Nice Edible Gifts For Christmas Ebook.

Here are some other marmalade recipes you might like to try;

Whisky & Ginger Marmalade

Cranberry & Orange Marmalade

Fig & Lemon Marmalade

PIN ME FOR LATER

Finally, if you do try this hot and spicy red pepper marmalade recipe, don’t forget to leave a comment/rating below. I love to hear from readers and respond to every comment just as fast as I can. Want more Larder Love, then follow me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest and sign up for my newsletter too.

Print Recipe

5 from 3 votes

Hot and Spicy Red Pepper Marmalade

A super easy and tasty marmalade for toast or the cheeseboard, it's sweet and savoury too

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Total Time40 mins

Course: preserves

Author: Karon Grieve

Ingredients

• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 orange
• 1 lemon
• water
• 500 g/1lb 2oz sugar
• 1 teaspoon crushed red chilli flakes

Instructions

• Scrub the citrus fruits to remove any preservative wax and rinse the pepper and pat dry.
• Remove the stalk from the pepper, cut into rough chunks and remove the membranes inside as this is bitter.
• Slice the orange into about eight chunks and the lemon into 4 pieces.
• Put all this fruit into a food processor and pulse till you get it all to form little pieces. Don't go all out and make it into a puree, you want to still have little chunks of fruit in there.
• Put the fruit into a jug and measure out the same quantity in water.
• Add the dried chilli flakes and put the fruit and water into a heavy based pan and bring it to the boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for 20-30 minutes until the fruit is tender.
• Remove from heat, cover with a clean tea towel and let it sit overnight.
• Next day add the sugar to the pan and heat gently until this has completely dissolved.
• Raise the temperature to a boil and let it bubble away until it reaches the setting point, about 10 minutes.
• Spoon carefully into sterlised jars and add lids.