Pickled vegetables

Photographer: Emma

This recipe comes under the ‘Lazy Sunday’ category because it’s the easiest pickling process ever. Take vegetables (peel and wash if necessary), stuff them in a jar then boil liquid and pour it into the jar.

This process will take you about 30 minutes; the hardest part is finding jars and their matching lids (especially when you used every jar in the house to make candles). You have the rest of the day to relax, watch a movie, read a book, take a nap…just whatever you feel like doing on your lazy Sunday. And then come Monday morning when your workmates ask you what you did at the weekend, you don’t need to make up a cover story to hide the fact that you were a lazy-bones. You can triumphantly declare “I pickled vegetables”. They will be so impressed with your domesticated skills there will be no further probing.

It’s not preserving as such so there is no sterilising of jars. With this being said, you have to eat the vegetables within the month – which isn’t hard to do.

They make beautiful gifts so get inventive with the colours of vegetables and your packaging.

The liquor quantity will be enough to fill 3 large jars of vegetables.

INGREDIENTS

For the assortment of vegetables
Baby carrots (I used orange, yellow and purple)
Pickling onions
Lebanese cucumbers
Baby leeks
Small capsicums
Radishes
Cauliflower (I used green)

For the pickling liquor (enough for 3 large jars of vegetables)
1L white vinegar
1.5L water
8 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp black peppercorns
2 tbsp yellow mustard seeds

METHOD


1. Wash the vegetables, slice them as required to fit into your jars. My jars were tall so I sliced lengthways but you can really slice any which way you like – even mandaline slices or chop little batons.
2. Stuff (and I mean stuff) the vegetables into the jars – you want to minimise the gaps.
3. In a saucepan heat the vinegar, water, sugar, salt and add the peppercorns and mustard seeds. When the mixture boils, take off the heat and pour over the vegetables.
4. Put the screw top lids on the jars and leave to cool. Refrigerate and eat within 1 month.