Save some for later

The other day, Chef Alex Lee posted a picture on Instagram of hen-of-the-woods mushrooms in a jar covered in oil. It was a beatiful image- the meaty body of the fungi submerged in the verdant fat, flakes of red chili and whole laurel leaves floating alongside sprigs of thyme and chunks of garlic. It reminded me that it was fall in the northeast, a time for preserving the harvest in order to make it through the lean months of winter, which will soon be arriving. The process of jarring vegetables has been a comfort to me in my cooking life. I think it invokes a sense of home and security, an assurance that there is plenty now and there will be more later.

I took Chef Alex’s lead and got some peppers at the market near my apartment. I roasted them, (red, yellow, and orange hollands, serranos, fresnos) over the open flame on my four-burner stove and put them in a bowl, covered, to steam their charred skins loose. Once they were peeled and seeded, I cut them into strips and placed them in a bowl. I added julienned lemon peel, whole mint leaves, olive oil and coarse sea salt. I broiled a sirlion steak with the fat cap still attached which i had seasoned and macerated with the juice of a bitter orange. This I sliced after it had rested awhile and topped it with some of the marinated peppers. The remainder is in my refridgerator, in a jar, for later.