September is a great time of year to pickle and and preserve lots of great tasting late summer vegetables such as courgettes. It's such a great way to extend the life of certain vegetables that are at their peak in late August and September. We stumbled upon a fantastic recipe for quick pickled courgette and another for kohlrabi and we loved them so much we are now thinking about how we can package and sell them as part of the Dovebrook range!
Both these pickles are great on veggie burgers, salads and garlic bread. We had some Beyond Meat burgers and these pickles along with ketchup, mustard and tomatoes was a pure delight, it really did feel like a seriously gourmet burger!
The only thing that takes time here is draining some of the liquid from the courgettes, but if you plan ahead a bit, the rest of the process only takes a few minutes. One thing to be conscious of is being sure to slice the vegetables nice and finely as it's nice for them to be pliable when adding to toast and salads and you don't want them to be too thick or rigid.
Courgette Pickles with Shallots, Chilli and Mustard Seeds
Ingredients:
- 3 medium courgettes (450g), thinly sliced
- 1 medium white onion, thinly sliced
- 3 shallots, thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fine grain sea salt
- small handful of fresh dill
- 1 small fresh red chilli, very thinly sliced
- 1/2 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds
- 180 ml apple cider vinegar
- 180 ml white wine vinegar
- 50g natural cane sugar
Instructions:
Toss the courgettes, onion, shallots, and salt together in a colander and place over a bowl to catch the liquids. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least a couple hours. Toss once or twice along the way. You're aiming to get as much liquid out of the courgette as possible. When you're finished draining the courgette, shake off any water. At this point you want the courgette as dry as possible. Place in a 1 litre Kilner jar (or equivalent) along with the dill, chilli, and mustard seeds.
Combine the vinegars and sugar in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring until the sugar dissolves, and continue to boil for a few minutes. Pour the liquid over the courgettes and the rest of the ingredients and seal the jar. Let cool, then refrigerate. The pickles are good for a several weeks.
Kholrabi Pickles
Kholrabi is another firm favourite in our household, and pickling them just enhances them even more. We always enjoy kholrabi raw, cut into matchsticks and tossed into salads and you can still do that after pickling them. Like the courgettes they are fantastic as a burger topping as well and even just as a snack to be enjoyed on their own. Also a great addition to a stir fry or as a side for a warmer dish. The heat from the chilli in this recipe gives it an even more interesting and appealing flavour that would elevate any dish. we adapted this recipe from Riverford Organics.
Kholrabi Pickles with Ginger, Cumin, Chilli and Bay leaves
Ingredients:
- 1 large kohlrabi
- 250 ml white wine vinegar
- 1 Tbsp sea salt
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup
- 1 garlic clove thinly sliced
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
- 1/2 a fresh medium red chilli, thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions:
Peel the kohlrabi, slice thinly, and cut the slices into thin matchsticks.
Put the vinegar, salt and maple syrup in a pan with 250ml water and bring to the boil.
Mix the kohlrabi with the remaining ingredients in a bowl and then pack into a sterilised Kilner jar (or similar)
Pour the vinegar mixture over the kohlrabi, making sure it covers everything. Close the lid and allow to cool.
Keep refrigerated and use within a couple of weeks.
