Recipe | Pickled Vegetables

For the cook that enjoys an afternoon spent dancing with your chef’s knife. Who finds beauty in making vegetables perfectly symmetric. This is a labor of love, but also really freaking delicious along side a grilled cheese sandwich.

For the brine:
24+ cloves garlic, peeled
4 cups white vinegar
12 teaspoons kosher salt
Several sprigs of fresh dill (2–4 sprigs in each jar)
3 teaspoons celery seed (¼ tsp in each jar)
3 teaspoons coriander seed (¼ tsp in each jar)
3 teaspoons mustard seed (¼ tsp in each jar)
12 dried bay leaves (1 in each jar)
3 teaspoons cumin seed (¼ tsp in each jar)
3 teaspoon black peppercorns (¼ tsp in each jar)
A pinch of chili flakes for an extra kick (optional)

For the vegetables:
3 hot house cucumbers, quartered lengthwise, cut to fit jar
12 carrots, peeled and cut in half or quarters lengthwise depending on thickness — use heirloom multi colored carrots for a more beautiful presentation.
12–24 handful large scallion pieces or green beans
1 head of cauliflower — few pieces of to tuck wherever they’ll fit
12 small hot red chiles and/or jalapeños (I’ve done 1 small chili and half a jalapeno)

12 pint jars

Directions:

With nothing else in the dish washer, wash jars and lids without soap to sanitize. Be very careful handling pieces after wash so not to contaminate them. In this recipe you will not be long-term preserving pickles in a boiling method, therefore the shelf-life will only be up to 3 months long and must always be refrigerated.

First prep each jar with spices on the bottom (¼ teaspoon of each, and fixing 2–4 sprigs of dill to the side wall of each jar. Then begin to fit in vegetables so they are well packed, maximizing the space, but don’t go nuts mashing too much in there.

In a medium saucepan, bring 8 cups water to a boil, reduce the heat so the water simmers and add the garlic. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the vinegar and salt, raise the heat and bring to a boil, stirring until the salt dissolves. Remove from the heat. Using funnel, pour liquid over the vegetables to cover completely dispersing the cloves of garlic into each jar. Wipe rim of jar dry so the lid will seal. Cool, cover and refrigerate. The pickles will taste good in just a few hours, better after a couple of days. Warn your eaters that the jalapeno is not a bell pepper (or don’t).