Pickled Nasturtium Seed Pods

Rosemary Cole and her whānau have been living in their 1930s urban Karori property for almost 40 years now and Rosemary’s parents-in-law lived there before them. The wooden house was built in order to get the eastern sun in the mornings, so you feel like getting up, and then the sun moves around the house, so all the rooms are warm and dry. The garden is on a steep hillside, based on a thin layer of soil over greywacke. Rosemary says climate change has affected the small garden around the house and the areas of fruit trees plus lawns, but she can only water the garden on alternate days, meaning that plants need deep roots to a water source. Luckily, her nasturtiums are a hardy bunch, even when the rhododendrons and camellia trees opposite their small garden plot shade it. Fortunately, they’re pest-free.

Rosemary’s late mother-in-law suggested the Pickled Nasturtium Seed Pods recipe to her and Rosemary has adapted it rather smartly by using the residual liquid from pickled gherkins, avoiding the high salt content of the original brine recipe while also being an economical and eco-friendly way to re-use what would normally be wasted. The pickled pods taste just like capers and Rosemary uses them with cold cut meats and cheese, in fish dishes and in salads to give an interesting tangy taste.

Makes as much as you like

Firstly, choose a clean jar with a lid that seals well. Label and date that jar. This will help you remember what the contents are during storage in a cool, dark place while the seed pods pickle in the liquid.

Depending on the size of your nasturtium seed pods crop, make up enough of your favourite pickling recipe. You need to make enough of it to fully cover the seed pods plus a bit extra, as they’ll expand a little during the pickling process.

That bit of extra liquid will also cover and coat the pods when you occasionally shake the jar, helping to distribute the seed pods in the jar so they don’t just settle in the bottom.

“What I do is even more easy-peasy though,” says Rosemary. “Instead of making up a pickling liquid,

I reuse the leftover liquid from a finished jar of pickled gherkins. I wash the nasturtium seed pods very carefully, so they’re quite clean of any soil, and immerse them in that residual gherkin-pickling liquid.

“Then I cover tightly with a lid and store the jar at the back of the bottom shelf of my fridge and use the pickles like capers as required. Easy as!”