Get out of a pickle with pickled veggies
Looking for that ingredient to take a dish from blah to beautiful? Quick pickled vegetables deliver an undeniable wow flavour.
Vegetables like beets, red onion and radishes bring dramatic colour to any dish, and just about any vegetable when pickled will heighten the flavour of a dish. While, for some, the thought of pickled vegetables sounds ubiquitous, there is a lot of variation and creativity that can go into your pickling recipes.
First and foremost, is the choice of vinegar. For delicate and subtle flavoured vegetables opt for rice wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar. If you want some more robust flavours use red wine vinegar or even balsamic, although for the latter you may want to add a small amount of a sharper vinegar such as white wine vinegar to elevate the acidity of the pickling liquid.
For earthy vegetables such as mushrooms consider sherry vinegar. Don't feel limited to the pickling spice found at your local grocery store. Mix up the spices based on the vegetable. I like baking spices with beets, Indian spices with cauliflower and ginger with radishes.
Finally, be brave with how you use your pickled vegetables. You can serve them on their own, but they also can elevate everything from salads to tacos to charcuterie boards and even burgers.
The possibilities are endless.
PICKLED DAIKON
½ lb daikon, very thinly sliced on a mandolin
3 thin slices ginger
1 ½ cup rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
Directions: Place vinegar, sugar and salt in a pot. Bring to a quick boil. When sugar has dissolved, remove from heat. Place daikon and ginger in a sterilized jar. Top with liquid. Close lid and let pickle for 2 to 3 hours before serving. Serving suggestion: The bright white nature of daikon (also known as lo bok) can elegantly contrast with bolder colours on a plate. Serve as a base to shrimp or lobster salad.
INDIAN-INSPIRED PICKLED CAULIFLOWER
1/2 head cauliflower, florets removed 1 tsp red chili flake 1 tbsp turmeric
1/2 tbsp mustard seeds
3 garlic, sliced
2 cups apple cider vinegar
3 tbsp sugar
1/2 tbsp salt
Directions: Place cauliflower, chili flakes, turmeric, mustard seeds, ginger and garlic in a large sterilized jar. Place apple cider vinegar, sugar and salt in a pot. Heat until sugar and salt dissolves. Pour hot vinegar over the cauliflower. Close lid. Let pickled for four to five hours before serving. Refrigerate for up to three weeks.
Serving suggestion: Make this part of a spicy Indian-inspired appetizer platter full of Indian spiced nuts, spicy cheese such as local fenugreek or cumin Havarti, and some classic Indian appetizers such as pakora or onion bhaji.
QUICK PICKLED CARROTS
1 small bunch carrots*, ends removed,
scrubbed, quartered lengthwise 4 sprigs dill 4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
1 ½ tbsp sugar
3/4 tbsp salt
Directions: Divide carrots amongst two small mason jars. Add two sprigs dill and two clove garlic to each jar. Place cider, sugar, and salt in a pot. Heat until sugar and salt dissolves. Pour hot vinegar evenly over carrots. Close lid. Let pickled overnight before serving. Refrigerate for up to three weeks. Serving suggestions: Pickled carrots can be added to a charcuterie board, in salads, or can even replace the celery or pickled bean as a Bloody Caesar garnish.
QUICK PICKLED RED ONION
1/2 large red onion, peeled thinly sliced 1 cup red wine vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
Directions: Place the onion slices in a sterilized jar. Place the red wine vinegar, sugar and salt in pot. Heat until sugar and salt dissolves. Pour hot vinegar over onions. Close lid. Let pickle for two to three hours before serving. Refrigerate for up to three weeks.
Serving suggestions: My go to pickled veg, as it is so easy to make and over delivers on colour and flavour. Great for tacos, salads, burgers, or use as a tangy addition to all sorts of sandwiches.
Mark Dewolf is currently the creative director of food and drink at the Saltwire Network, director of marketing and communications of the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale (ASI) and past-president of the Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers (CAPS). He enjoys drinking, eating, writing and talking about wine, beer and food