Summer Pickles

I am totally addicted to pickles,  there is nothing that can’t be significantly improved by the addition of a layer of spicy- sweet goodness, cheese , ham , even fish benefits from a few slices of gerkins or capers, ( if you dare risk tuna in the current furore I can reccomend tuna and gerkin sandwiches).  The whole top shelf of the fridge is devoted to a range of pickles and chutneys picked up from stall and shops, even outside houses.

Despite my addiction I have never tried making my own and pickle or chutneys. They do provide an excellent was of preserving bumper vegetables crops , so in preparation for our summer harvest , I spent last weekends rainstorm making pickles from the vegebox leftovers.

First I tried  indian Brinjal (Aubergine) Pickle, this is a recipe from Mamta’s Kitchen which is a fantastic source of easy to follow indian recipes.

Second a picalilli , this for me is luridly delicious, you can use any vegetables though cauliflower and green beans are a classic combination, I went for cauliflower and a cucumber , no beans on plants yet. Many of the recipes I read called for salting the vegetables first , but the recipe did not suffer from skipping this step

These pickles go there outing just a  week after making  when yesterday my mum & step-dad stopped by on their way back from holidays in Northumberland .  After
hours stuck in traffic jams we ate  in gorgeous sunshine . The pickles makng  perfect accomaniment to some home-boiled ham, , hunks of homemade bread, and biting mature cheddar, even a few pickled onions for extra pickliness.

I will definitely making more home-made preserves just need a few more gallons of vinegar and pounds of sugar

Picalili

300g cauliflower florets
1 large white onion finely chopped
150g of cucumber diced

Spiced Vinegar
500ml malt vinegar
2 tbsp of mustard seeds

Sauce

25g plain flour
1tbsp english mustard powder
½ tbsp turmeric, or to taste
2 tsp ground ginger
3 tbsp malt vinegar

Method

1. Cut the vegetables into 1cm pieces
2. Put the vinegar and mustard seeds into a stainless steel saucepan, bring just to boiling point, lower the heat, cover the pan and simmer gently for 10-15 minutes; allow to cool.
3. Mix together the flour, mustard powder, turmeric and ginger in a good sized basin, add the three tablespoons vinegar, stir to make a smooth paste. Pour the spiced vinegar over the ingredients, make sure the mixture is smooth.
4. Pour into a large saucepan and stir over a low heat until as thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon without running off.
5. Add to the thickened sauce. When this has reached simmering point simmer for one minute only, so the small pieces keep a good shape and texture.
6.  To bottle spoon into hot sterilized jars and cover.