GET PICKLING WITH THIS RECIPE FOR PICCALILLI

Devon food writer Mark Diacono’s piccalilli, from his book SOUR (Quadrille £25) Makes approx 1 x 1.5 litre (21⁄2 pint) jar (or 3 x 500ml/18fl oz jars)

1kg (2lb 4oz) washed vegetables, cut into pieces no larger than 2cm (3⁄4in) – I go for equal amounts of sugar snaps, mini courgettes (or usual size cut into quarters lengthways and sliced), cauliflower and carrots 50g (2oz) fine salt

600ml (1 pint) cider vinegar

80g (3oz) honey

120g (4oz) granulated sugar

25g (1oz) cornflour

4 tsp ground turmeric

4 tsp English mustard powder

3 tsp celery seeds

3 tsp fenugreek seeds

3 tsp yellow mustard seeds 1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tbsp crushed coriander seeds

■ Ensure the vegetables are relatively dry. Place in a large bowl and sprinkle with the salt. Turn the vegetables over to distribute the salt thoroughly, then cover and leave somewhere cool for 24 hours. Rinse with cold water and drain well.

Put 550ml (19fl oz) of the vinegar in a pan with the honey and sugar and bring to the boil. While that is happening, stir the cornflour in a bowl to ensure it is lump free, add the spices and combine well. Add a little of the remaining vinegar to the bowl and stir into the spicy cornflour to create a paste. Gradually add the remaining vinegar to thin the paste a little.

■ Once the pan of sweetened vinegar has reached the boil, reduce heat a little and add the paste a little at a time, stirring constantly. Boil for a few minutes to thicken the sauce, stirring occasionally.

Turn off heat, put veg in sterilised jar(s), pour over spicy vinegar and seal immediately. Mark starts eating this within a day or two, but some prefer the more mellow flavours that develop over the weeks and months.