Rainbow Pickled Veg Plate: A Taste of Summer
Few things scream “summer” more than a fresh, colorful plate of seasonal veggies. With this recipe for a rainbow pickled veg plate, you’ll transform simple vegetables into a delectable dish that your guests will be craving all season long.
The following is an excerpt from Salt and the Art of Seasoning by James Strawbridge. It has been adapted for the web.
Rainbows spring to mind when you see this on the plate – the pot of gold is realising just how simple these are to make…
Salting vegetables draws out some of their moisture and leaves them ready to draw back in your culinary breath – the calming process of osmosis in action like a yoga class breathing pattern. A slice of cucumber or a ribbon of beetroot can keep its crunch after salting while soaking in the flavours of your choice, immersed in a so-sweet pickling bath. It’s intoxicating when you start pickling salted vegetables yourself. They provide a kaleidoscope of colours – the entire colour wheel – along with high-frequency tastes, textures coming alive as you bite and the seasoning poised and beaming, shining through blinding rays of delicate primary light.
RECIPE: Rainbow Pickled Veg Plate
Serves 6 (all the pickled veg together)
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp fine Himalayan crystal salt
For the carrots
- 6 baby carrots, peeled
- 150ml/1⁄4 pint mirin
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 1 tsp shichimi togarashi (a Japanese seven-spice blend)
For the cauliflower
- 1⁄4 cauliflower, broken into florets
- 150ml/1⁄4 pint white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 2 tbsp sliced (peeled) freshturmeric root
- 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1⁄2 tsp dried chilli flakes
For the beetroot
- 2 beetroots, peeled and thinly sliced
- 150ml/1⁄4 pint red wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp light soft brown sugar
- 1 tsp za’atar
For the radishes
- 6 radishes, finely sliced
- 150ml/1⁄4 pint cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 4 garlic cloves, sliced
- 1 jalapeño chilli pepper, de-seeded and sliced
- Pinch of dried chilli flakes
For the cucumber
- 1 cucumber, crinkle-cut using a retro slicer, or sliced into thin discs
- 150ml/1⁄4 pint cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp chopped dill
- 1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
For the red cabbage
- 1⁄4 red cabbage, finely sliced
- 150ml/1⁄4 pint sherry vinegar
- 1 tbsp light soft brown sugar
- 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
- 1 sprig rosemary
For the onions
- 2 red onions, finely sliced
- 150ml/1⁄4 pint cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 1 tsp ground sumac
Procedure
Slice all the vegetables thinly and uniformly so that they cure and pickle at a similar rate to each other, except leave the carrots whole and the cauliflower broken into florets. Arrange on a large plastic tray (keeping the different veg separate from each other) and sprinkle evenly with the fine Himalayan salt.
Leave for at least 1–2 hours at room temperature or overnight in the fridge below 5°C/41°F.
Prepare all the pickling solutions, one at a time (rinse the pan out between making each solution). In a small saucepan, heat the vinegar and sugar with the corresponding spices until the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to the boil.
Transfer each of the salted vegetables into separate small bowls, then pour over the matching hot pickling solution.
Toss each veg in its pickling solution to coat evenly and then leave submerged to cool back to room temperature, stirring each bowlful of veg every 5 minutes.
Remove each veg from its pickling solution using a slotted spoon while the veg still has a bit of bite and before it softens too much. Discard the pickling solution, aromatics and spices before serving.
Serve all the pickled veg as a colorful side at a barbecue or as a starter.
Once drained off, these pickled vegetables will all keep together in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 2–3 weeks.
Recommended Reads
Read The Book
Salt and the Art of Seasoning
From Curing to Charring and Baking to Brining, Techniques and Recipes to Help You Achieve Extraordinary Flavours
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