Today was a full day of menu and recipe visioning and farmers’ market shopping for the Plantlab Culinary Cooking Course Final Project. As a result, I did not have a lot of time for cooking and ate left-over roasted veggies and hummus for dinner. With only a little time to share a recipe with you today, I decided to make a very quick pickle to share with you.
Pickling is basically a way to preserve food by fermentation with with acid (vinegar), salt, and a sweetener. Today’s pickle features fennel bulb, apple cider vinegar, sea salt, agave, black peppercorns, plus an orange and fresh thyme.
Simple Ingredients
- 2 cups sliced veggies, such as cabbage, cucumbers, carrots, or fennel, green beans, beets, Brussels sprouts.
- 1 citrus fruit, such as orange or lemon
- Few sprigs fresh herbs, such as thyme, dill
- 2-3 tbsp sea salt
- ½ cup vinegar (apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, rice vinegar)
- ¼ cup sweetener (agave, honey, maple sugar, coconut sugar, palm sugar)
- ½ cup water, as needed
- Extras: ½ tsp dried spices such as coriander, fennel seeds, caraway seeds, dill seeds, mustard seeds
The Simple Steps to Prepare Your Pickled Veggies
Step 1: Choose a veggie, such as fennel, cabbage, carrots, or cucumbers, beets, green beans, or Brussels sprouts.
Step 2: Thinly slice the veggies with a knife or mandoline. If you use a mandoline to thinly slice the veggies, they will absorb the vinegar mixture more and become more sour.
Step 3: Massage the veggies, citrus with the salt, pepper, and fresh herbs in a large bowl.
Step 4: Whisk the vinegar and sweetener in a small bowl.
Step 5: Place the massaged veggies into a quart sterilized Mason Jar.
Step 6: Pour the vinegar and sweetener mixture into the jar to cover the veggies.
Step 7: Add enough water to fully cover the veggies, leaving about 1” space at top of jar.
Step 8: Cover the top of the veggies with a lettuce or cabbage leaf to make sure all veggies stay submerged in the liquid to prevent bacteria growth.
Step 9: Store the jar at room temperature, out of direct sunlight for 5-7 days to allow for fermentation.
Step 10: After 5-7 days, taste the pickled veggies. When you like the level of sourness, store in your refrigerator for about 2 weeks.
Step 11: Enjoy your pickled veggies with a slice of avocado or nut cheese.
ACTION: Have fun experimenting with quick pickling with veggies from your farmers’ market and with different spices.
For more simple recipes, culinary and nutrition tips, I’m happy to mail a copy of my book, “A New View of Healthy Eating,” to you or your friends.
