Portuguese Sweet Red Pepper Paste (massa De Pimentão)

Total Time: 96 hrs Preparation Time: 96 hrs

Ingredients

• 4 large red peppers or 4 large red bell peppers, cored, seeded and quartered
• 5 lbs coarse salt (not pickling salt, it is too fine)
• 1/2 cup good-quality imported olive oil
• 16 ounces jelly jars, sterilized (2 8-oz. or 4 4-oz. with tight fitting lids)

Recipe

• 1 set a colander inside a large noncorrosive pan or dish with sides. (you may also use a wooden produce crate with narrow spaces between the slats found at a local produce market as a colander; you would be half-way to portugal in your mind, at least.).
• 2 pour a 1-inch layer of salt into the colander to form the base. some salt will seep out.).
• 3 place a layer of peppers, skin side up, on the salt, pressing the peppers into the salt. uncurl even the smallest part of the pepper, otherwise mold will form.
• 4 cover with a 1/2-inch layer of salt and the remaining peppers, ending with another 1/2-inch layer of salt. place a heavy dish or bowl on top to weight it down.
• 5 let stand for up to 5 days to allow the moisture to drain from the peppers. after the fourth day, the peppers should be thinner, about 1/4-inch or less. the salt will be damp and the amount of liquid draining will be barely a trickle.
• 6 shake off the excess salt and process the peppers briefly with either a hand-cranked grinder, food processor, or blender. the texture will not be smooth -- more like coarsely ground tomatoes.
• 7 fill the sterilized jars, leaving about an inch at the top. pour olive oil over the top to a depth of 1/2 inch. close the jar tightly and refrigerate.
• 8 to use massa de pimentão, simply push aside the congealed olive oil with a spoon, remove what you need, replacing the oil and adding more, if necessary. use sparingly.