Backyard Pickle Jar

Plunk down a colorful mix of homemade pickles on your barbecue buffet table and call them a side salad, sandwich topper, or snack. You can fiddle with the ratios of vegetables or use all of a single type instead, but I like the variety inspired by the I talian pickled veggies called giardiniera, which frequent antipasto platters. These pickles are a great way to use up a summer bumper crop from the garden or a farm share.

Ingredients

• 2 cups distilled white vinegar
• 2 cups water
• 4 cloves garlic, quartered
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes (more if you prefer your pickles spicy)
• 2 medium carrots (about 8 ounces), peeled and sliced Va inch thick on a sharp diagonal (1 1/2 cups)
• 2 medium salad turnips or baby turnips (about 5 ounces), peeled and sliced
• 1/8 inch thick (1 cup sliced)
• 1 small zucchini (about 6 ounces), sliced 1/4 inch thick (1 1/2 cups)
• 2 Kirby cucumbers (about 4 ounces), halved crosswise and then quartered, or 1 regular cucumber, peeled, quartered, and cut into 2-inch lengths
• 4 ounces green beans, halved crosswise (1 cup)

Directions

Combine the vinegar with the water in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, sugar, salt, and red pepper flakes and bring the liquid to a rapid boil.

Add the carrots, turnips, zucchini, cucumbers, and green beans and let them sit in the hot liquid for 1 minute.

Turn off the heat and carefully transfer the veggies and liquid to a large glass bowl or baking dish to cool completely, about 1 hour. Once cooled, transfer the vegetables and liquid to airtight containers (preferably glass jars) and refrigerate until cold before enjoying. Store the pickles in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 weeks.

tl|>: Adapt this recipe to your taste. If you prefer sweet pickles, add another tablespoon or two of sugar. If you love your pickles with some heat, increase the amount of hot red pepper or add a sliced chile pepper that ranks higher on the Scoville scale (try jalapeho). A longer soak in the brining liquid on the stove produces softer pickles, so if you like yours more tender with less crunch, let the liquid come back to a boil after you add the veggies and before removing from the heat to cool.

Submitted 7/21/14.
Source: Choosing Sides: From Holidays to Every Day, 130 Delicious Recipes to Make the Meal by Tara Mataraza Desmond
Submitted By: b smith

Backyard Pickle Jar