In a Pickle with Klara Risberg
Recipe and words by Klara Risberg
Good old pickles, we all love them and they’re actually super simple to make and a great way to tackle food waste. You can more or less pickle any hard vegetable in a way to preserve vegetables in season. A home pickled jar of something tasty is also a very lovely gift. Use the recipes below as a basic but use your imagination and experiment with the spices and vegetables to whatever is in season. What is really important is to use super clean jars, I submerge my jars in boiling water for about 8 minutes then dry them in a 120 degree oven until dry. You can find loads of different ways to sterilise jars online.
The easiest way to start is with a basic pickling liquid which is equal parts water and vinegar and half amount of sugar. For example 500ml water, 500ml vinegar and 250ml sugar. Any basic vinegar such as white wine, red wine, apple cider vinegar or rice wine vinegar will do the trick. You can change up the ratios to your preference and use brown sugar instead of white.
Growing up in Sweden we use a stronger vinegar (12-24%) than what is found here in the UK (4-8%), so when I make pickles using a stronger vinegar I change the ratio to 3-2-1, which is three parts water, two parts sugar and one part vinegar.
Fill your jars with any hard vegetables you like, such as carrots, parsnips, turnips, onions, cabbage to name a few. Toast and add your favourite spices, I like bay, black pepper, fennel, mustard seeds, once the liquid has cooled slightly cover the veg with the liquid.
Middle Eastern pink pickled turnips
These are the pink batons you have eaten in middle eastern restaurants and they are truly addictive! The colour is so beautiful and a great addition to any wraps, salads or dips.
350ml water
35g sea salt
500g turnips
1 beetroot
3 bay leaves
3 garlic cloves, sliced
Bring half of the water to a boil with the bay and add the salt, take the pan off the heat completely and add the remaining cold water and set aside.
Peel the parsnips and beetroot into 1cm batons and add them to a jar with the sliced garlic. Transfer to a clean jar and let cool at room temperature before transferring to the fridge.
Pickled carrots
I like to pickle them whole to then toss and glaze them in butter and star anise.
300ml water
300ml white wine vinegar
150ml sugar
400g carrots
2 red chillies
3 garlic cloves
2 tbsp whole black pepper
3 bay leaves
Sea salt
Bring 100ml of the water to a boil and dissolve the sugar, then add the remaining water and vinegar, season with a pinch of salt. Clean, trim and peel the carrots then cut them into your preferred shape or keep whole if they are small. Add carrots, garlic and spices to a jar and submerge the carrots in the liquid. Transfer to a clean jar and let cool at room temperature before transferring to the fridge.
Banging everyday cucumbers
Incredible in burgers and sandwiches!
300ml water
300ml white wine vinegar
150g light brown sugar
1 tbsp sea salt
1 large cucumber
½ onion
3 garlic cloves
1 chilli
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds
2 tsp black mustard seeds
Bring 100ml of the water to a boil and dissolve the sugar, then add the remaining water and vinegar, season with a pinch of salt. Cut the cucumbers in 0.5cm thick discs and add them to a colander and toss with the salt, let sit for at least an hour then rinse under cold water.
Toast all the spices except turmeric in a dry pan until fragrant then add to the pan with hot pickling liquid. Add the chili, garlic and cucumbers to the pan and give it a good mix. Transfer to a clean jar and let cool at room temperature before transferring to the fridge.