Pickled veg with juniper berries

This quick side dish is wonderful with smoked salmon and cream cheese on rye bread. It also goes well with a gin and tonic (there are numerous alcohol-free versions available these days). I flavour the white wine vinegar with juniper berries and lemon peel as a nod to real gin but you can leave them out if you don’t have them in your pantry.

Serves 6 as a side dish • Preparation time: 10 minutes • Cooking time: 5 minutes

• 2 small cucumbers (25cm each) or 1 large cucumber

• 5 radishes, well rinsed

• 1 fennel bulb

• 10ml sugar

• 3ml salt

PICKLING LIQUID

• 125ml white wine vinegar • 125ml water

• 5 juniper berries

• 2ml lemon zest

• 60ml sugar

1 Cut the cucumbers into quarters, lengthwise, and remove the seeds; then julienne the flesh. Thinly slice the radishes and fennel. Now rub the vegetables well with the sugar and salt and leave to stand in a colander for 30 minutes.

Pat dry. You can rinse the vegetables gently, but be careful not to make them too watery again.

2 Meanwhile, heat all the ingredients for the pickling liquid together until the sugar has dissolved, but don’t let it boil. Allow the pickling liquid to cool to room temperature then pour over the drained vegetables. Refrigerate for 1 hour before you tuck in. >>