Spicy Pickled Vegetables

I always find it interesting how people describe themselves as ‘having a sweet tooth’ or ‘a salty palate’ or preferring savoury foods. I guess its to do with how your tastebuds are geared up on your tongue and which are more dominant. I’m never sure what category I fall into, but I do know that I love sharp flavours – tangy, sour, vinegary thats my bag. It will be no surprise then in that case that I love anything that is pickled.

Pickling things my self is not something I’ve ever really tried until the last few years, but its so easy to do. This year particularly with a glut of various vegetables growing in the garden it’s a brilliant way to preserve any excess so that they don’t perish.

A basic pickling mix would be vinegar and sugar, but the addition of spices in various combinations and quantities can really add another dimension. The recipe below is my favorite pickling one – adding a bit of heat to the equation. Obviously you can change the quantities of the pickling liquor if you have very large or smaller amounts. This quantity will be fine for about 200-400g vegetables.

Ingredients

Vegetables – your choice really. In this recipe we used cauliflower, shallot, carrot, thin green chillies and radish. Other options would be things like baby onions, beetroot, cucumber, courgette, cabbage. Cut them into ribbons, thin slices or small florets

300ml white wine vinegar
200 ml apple cider vinegar
50ml water
150g caster or golden caster sugar
1 star anise
1 clove
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1-2 dried red chillies

Method

Put the sugar, water, vinegar and spices in a saucepan on a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved.
Add in the vegetables and bring to the boil. Take of the heat and leave to cool slightly in the pan
Tip the vegetables into sterilised jars and top with the pickling liquid so they are covered. This way they will keep in the fridge for several weeks.

Happy pickling :)