Here's a quick little pickle recipe. I call them "quickles" because they're quick and, well, pickles! They're a perfect snack with drinks. Easy to pick up and munch on. Slightly sweet, with a nice acidic bite, rounded by the warmth of celery seed. They are perfect served with some sharp cheddar, slices of apple and hearty brown bread, accompanied by a nice brown ale. Or maybe on the side of a super dry, dirty gin martini. Make your martini with a splash of brine and garnish with a pickled green bean!
1 1/2 pounds of green beans, topped not tailed (meaning: remove the stem part and not the tail)
Brine:
3 cups of white vinegar
1 cup of white wine vinegar
6 tablespoons of sugar
3 teaspoons of pickling spice
1 teaspoon of black peppercorns
1 clove of garlic, smashed
1/2 teaspoon of celery seed
Bring the brine to a boil, dissolving the sugar. Let simmer for ten minutes. Depending on how long your beans are use either a pint or quart, wide-mouth variety. Make sure your jars are nice and clean, and hot. You can fill them with boiling water, or super hot tap water. Once the brine is ready, take it off the heat, fill the jars with the beans, and then fill to cover the beans. Seal them, let the jars cool a bit, put them in the fridge. They benefit from a few days, but you can eat them a few hours later, too. Store them in the fridge.
P.S. There's still a few days to leave a comment for a chance to win Food Heroes by Georgia Pellegrini. I've asked folks to tell me who their food heroes are, and the answers are amazing! I am totally enjoying reading everyone of them.
since i have begun to follow your blog i have bought mason jars, the pickling spice, various vinegars (5,6,7%), and today it's raining, so here i go, first try in the pickle factory.
ReplyDeletei was little when i was small, they called me 'pickles', alas gurken...
thank you for this sweet/sour delight.
m
http://noodle-brains.blogspot.com/
Michael - That's wonderful news! Don't you love tinkering in the kitchen on a rainy day? We should be getting one tomorrow. Happy pickling!
ReplyDeleteYum and love the name.
ReplyDeleteLove the idea of the quickles, and I just so happen to have a ton of green beans from my CSA. So I'll be making these tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteJulia, Your Sweet Green Bean Quickles sound wonderful and I would like to try to can a few jars of them, however when I was reading the instructions for the brim, You say to stir the salt and sugar together until dissolved, but you left out the amount of salt and what type of salt to use.
ReplyDeleteSandy - Thanks for catching that typo! There's no salt in this recipe, but I'm so used to saying it that I guess I must have just gone robot and wrote it anyway. I've since amended it. Everyone needs an editor, thanks for being mine for the day!
ReplyDeleteHa - quickles! Love it. Now we just need to make tomatillo quickles and we'll have the most-fun-to-say recipe ever.
ReplyDeleteJulia LOVE your blog. My hero is my grandmother. She had little money yet her incredible cuisine brought grace, and dignity to her family and it continues to this day. She canned a mixed fruit jam so incredibly delicious that to this day almost 22 years since I was last able to crack open a jar with her-its flavor is as clear and vivid in my mind as ever. Perhaps finding your blog will motivate me recreate that delicious spread and rekindle again the wonderful memories I have of Grandma Anna. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteQuickles are pickles I want to know better! I love your site because it continues to remind me that I need to take time off to stay home and do all these amazing things that you do!
ReplyDeleteI boozed up some beautiful nectarines in brandy on sat! Thanks for continuing to inspire me
Excellent work!
Denise! Me too.
ReplyDeletePaige - I'll bet the kids like them!
Kaela - Aha! Tomatillo Quickles. I've been inspired!
Amy - That is so sweet! What a beautiful memory. I do hope you become inspired to recreate that special jam, with the thought of Grandma Anna guiding you! You should post this on my Food Heroes give away post!
Dane - Inspiring you makes me feel so happy! If we have to be this far apart, then any way to stay in touch is good stuff. Even if I can't share those nectarines with you!
Quickles is brilliant. Trademark it at once!
ReplyDeleteMade these tonight! Can't wait to try them!! I'm going to try to wait a few days...but no promises!!!
ReplyDeleteCan I substitute Stevia for the sugar? I been looking for a bean recipe like this one:)
ReplyDeleteKen - I know! Now, how do I do that? It's going to be in a book soon (I contributed some recipes). Does that count?
ReplyDeleteKristina - That's awesome! Tell me how they came out!
TattingBina - that's a good question! Because these are fridge pickles, you can experiment with them pretty freely. Why don't you try it and tell me how it comes out? You can half the recipe if you want so you don't have to experiment with so many beans. Let me know if you do it!
Gave the recipe a try. Used the stevia no problem but I think next time I will cut the vinegar with some apple juice or water and reduce the vinegar by 1/4 the amount called for. Otherwise good flavor:) Thanks for the recipe. It's something I can build on:)
ReplyDeleteTattingbina - Thanks for filling me in on how it came out. I think apple juice is a great idea!
ReplyDelete