Pickled carrots spice up a sandwich
These refrigerator pickles are fast and easy to make — no sterilizing jars or cumbersome canning equipment are required. Just pop them in the fridge.
Adjust the spiciness by increasing or decreasing the jalapeños.
As for the carrots, the quickest approach is to use packaged crinkle-cut carrot “chips,” NK- inchthick slices cut with a corrugated blade. Or you can simply cut whole peeled carrots into NKinch- thick diagonal slices.
I tend to eat them as an afternoon snack, but they are delicious served alongside Mexican food; use them as a sweet-sour nibble with tortilla chips and either guacamole or salsa. They are also a welcome flavor enhancer when chopped and added to tuna salad or layered into a hummus-tomato sandwich.
Quick Pickled Carrots
Yield: About 4 cups
Ingredients:
■ 2 1/4 cups cider vinegar
■ 1/2 cup sugar
■ 1 tablespoon salt
■ 3 cups water
■ 1 16-ounce package crinkle-cut carrot chips or 1 1/4 pounds carrots, peeled and cut into Kinch-thick diagonal slices
■ 1 medium-size red onion, cut top to bottom into 1/4- inch thick wedges
■ 2 large jalapeño chilies, cut into lengthwise eighths, cored, seeded, see cook’s notes
■ Cook’s notes: Use caution when working with fresh chilies. Wash work surface and hands upon completion and do not touch eyes or face. Directions
1. In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, combine vinegar, sugar, salt and water. Bring to boil on high heat. Stir until sugar dissolves.
Add carrots, onion and chilies; return mixture to a boil.
2. Reduce heat to medium to medium-low. Gently boil (rigorous bubbles around the edge, but none in the middle) until carrots are tendercrisp, about 10 minutes. Pour into heatproof nonreactive bowl. Cool completely.
Cover and refrigerate up to 2 weeks.