Beets with figs and goat’s cheese on a bed of greens with balsamic vinaigrette
“Pickles played an important role in Columbus’ discovery of America in 1492. Around the time of Columbus, many transoceanic voyages were thwarted because crews suffered from scurvy, a disease caused by lack of vitamin C. Columbus’ ship stocker, a man named Amerigo Vespucci, stored ample quantities of vitamin C-rich pickles on the Niña, Pinta, and Santa Maria, helping to prevent scurvy outbreaks on the historic voyage across the Atlantic. As it turns out, America’s name is derived from the pickle merchant Vespucci, who became an explorer.” — Science of Cooking
This is the perfect season to start pickling and fermenting fresh fruits and vegetables. With the abundance of summer produce on the horizon, why not take the opportunity to preserve and enjoy the seasonal bounty?
Pickling and fermenting are not just trendy but also a timeless and practical way to use excess fruits and vegetables that may be lingering in your kitchen. Have you ever found yourself with an abundance of carrots, beets, cucumbers, cabbage, garlic, or onions? Pickling and fermenting them is a great way to prevent wastage and preserve these foods for future use. Once you find a brine recipe that suits your taste, it can be used for a variety of pickling purposes. Pickling differs from fermenting in that pickled vegetables are soaked in an acidic liquid to create a sour taste, while fermentation occurs naturally through a chemical reaction between a food’s sugars and bacteria. This results in a sour flavor without the need for added acids.
Fermented foods have gained popularity in recent years, but they have actually been around for thousands of years. Lacto-fermented foods are not only delicious, they also add a great boost to your good gut bacteria. Seventy percent of the immune system can be found in the gut. The gut microbiota is a dynamic ecosystem that is constantly changing. Eating more of a variety of fruits and vegetables in their natural state and more of these wonderful, cultured foods may aid digestion and immune function.
To store fermented foods properly, they should be refrigerated. Examples of fermented foods include yogurt, kefir, miso paste, kimchi, kombucha, sauerkraut, sourdough bread, olives, coconut aminos, soy sauce, fermented vegetables, and cheese.
It is essential to sterilize jars properly to prevent botulism and spoilage. To do so, wash the jars and lids thoroughly in hot, soapy water or run them through the dishwasher. Then, dry them in the oven at 250 F. If the lids have rubber seals, they should be boiled for sterilization, as the dry heat of the oven can damage them. A wide funnel is a useful tool that can simplify the process of filling jars with your pickled or fermented ingredients.
Pro tip: Once you’ve finished eating all the pickles, don’t discard the remaining juice! You can make use of it in numerous ways. For example, you can elevate the taste of your Bloody Mary cocktail by incorporating a splash of pickle juice. Moreover, pickle juice can work wonders as a fantastic meat tenderizer. When mixed with cold-pressed olive oil, it forms a delicious dressing that can enhance the flavor of your salads.
Following are some easy recipes to help simplify the process for you.
Sweet and Sour Refrigerator Pickled Cucumbers
These pickles are delicious, whether eaten straight out of the jar or on a fresh tomato sandwich.
5 cups cucumber, skin on, thinly sliced
½ cup apple cider vinegar or rice wine vinegar
1 to 2 teaspoons salt
1 bay leaf
½ teaspoon whole peppercorns, whole pickling spices, or a pinch of mustard seeds
⅛ teaspoon red chili flakes — optional
1½ cups water
3 to 4 tablespoons organic sugar
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
Add the sliced cucumbers into a sterilized quart glass Mason jar. Stuff as many cucumber slices into the glass bottle as possible. Bring the rest of the ingredients to a slight boil. Pour the boiling brine over the sliced cucumbers, making sure that they are all covered by the liquid. Close jar with lid and seal tightly; once cool, store in the refrigerator until ready to eat. Marinate overnight to maximize the flavor. Lasts about a week in the refrigerator.
Pickled Beets
3 medium beets, peeled, steamed, cooled, and cut into thin slices or quarters
2 teaspoons Himalayan pink salt or sea salt
½ cup raw apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons maple syrup or sugar
1 small red onion, sliced thin
½ teaspoon fennel seeds
½ teaspoon coriander seeds or 1 teaspoon mixed pickle spice
Heat the vinegar, maple syrup, and salt in a pot until it just starts to get hot. Add the beets, red onion, and spices into a sterilized glass jar and pour the vinegar mixture over. Leave to cool, then close the Mason jar with a lid and store in fridge until ready to use.
Quick Pickled Onion
Growing up, I loved pickled onions … and I still do! These onions are quick, easy, and delicious to make. They are great over salads, on tacos, on open sandwiches and wraps, or added to your avocado toast, sprinkled with fresh sprouts, microgreens, or fresh cilantro.
1 red onion, peeled and sliced
3 tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon maple syrup or sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Add the sliced onion to a sterilized glass Mason jar. Add the vinegar, maple syrup, water, and salt to a pot. Bring to a slight boil and then pour the liquid over the onion. Leave for a minimum of half an hour before eating or store in fridge until ready to eat.
Variation
1 small red onion, peeled, sliced, or diced, or sub sliced radishes or carrot ribbons
2 tablespoons red wine or raw apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon cold-pressed olive oil
1 teaspoon maple syrup
A pinch of salt
Add the onion to a glass Mason jar, mix the other ingredients, and pour over the onion. Place the lid on the jar and shake well. Leave to sit for at least half an hour before eating, but it stores well in the fridge for up to 3 to 4 days. The dressing can be doubled or tripled for more onion.
Pickled Red Cabbage Salad
This salad is delicious served as a side and so good served in wraps or the perfect addition to taco Tuesday!
Cabbage Mix
2 cups finely sliced purple cabbage
1 small red onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 cup red cherry tomatoes, halved
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips
1 large avocado, pitted and peeled (using a teaspoon, scoop chunks of avocado and add to salad)
A handful cilantro or parsley, finely chopped
1 small lemon
Garlic and herb seasoning to taste
Edible flowers of choice (nasturtiums or violas)
Dressing
6 tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons cold-pressed olive oil
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1 garlic clove, crushed
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Add the dressing to the purple cabbage and massage until the cabbage is well covered. Store in the fridge for about 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, add the slightly pickled cabbage to a salad platter. Add the rest of the ingredients in the order listed, except for the flowers. Gently mix the salad together, add a squeeze of fresh lemon, season with garlic and herb seasoning, and decorate with edible flowers.
Quick Pickled Vegetables
½ cup water
½ cup rice vinegar
¼ cup sugar
Pinch of black or pink peppercorns
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
½ teaspoon whole coriander seeds
½ of a long cucumber, sliced into discs
½ red onion, sliced thin
10 radishes, julienned
2 sprigs of dill or a pinch of mustard seeds
Combine water, vinegar, sugar, and spices in a pot and heat until the sugar is completely dissolved. Next, carefully pack the vegetables and the other ingredients into a sterilized large glass jar before pouring the hot pickling liquid over them. Allow the mixture to cool before storing. Store in fridge until ready to use.
Beets with Figs and Goat’s Cheese on a Bed of Greens with a Balsamic Vinaigrette
Salad Ingredients
3 handfuls of leafy spring greens
4 medium-sized steamed beets, peeled, cooled, quartered
3 large fresh figs, halved or quartered
4 ounces goat’s cheese, roughly chopped
1 small red onion, sliced and pickled
1 handful of arugula or watercress
3 tablespoons raw pumpkin seeds
3 tablespoons chopped dates
Vinaigrette Ingredients
¼ cup cold-pressed olive oil
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 garlic clove, peeled and zested
½ teaspoon freshly zested gingerroot
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt and crushed black pepper to taste
Add all the ingredients to a glass jar, shake until well mixed. Pour over salad and mix through.
Arrange the ingredients on a salad platter in the specified sequence. Drizzle the vinaigrette on top, delicately toss to combine, and serve.
