Chapter 07 · Slaws, Pickles and Sides
Bowl Pickles
Pickles by dinnertime. No canning, no boiling, no fear.
- Time
- 10 MIN, PLUS 30 MIN SOAKING
- Serves
- MAKES ABOUT 1 PINT
- Skill
- CHEF'S KNIFE
- Tools
- KNIFE, BOARD, BOWL (MANDOLINE OPTIONAL)
- Heat
- Mild
- Protein
- No cooked protein
Quick refrigerator pickles made without heating the brine. Whisking dissolves the sugar and salt in cold water and vinegar just fine; it only takes a minute longer. Slice the cucumbers thin and they are ready in half an hour, tangy and crisp. The same brine works on radishes, carrots, shallots and jalapenos.
The lineup
- 1/2 cup white or rice vinegar
- 1/2 cup cold water
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 garlic clove, smashed
- 1 tsp dried dill or mustard seed
- 4 Persian cucumbers, sliced into thin coins
- 1 shallot, sliced into thin rings
The chop
- Whisk the vinegar, water, sugar and salt in the bowl until the grains are completely dissolved, about a minute.
- Add the garlic and dill.
- Add the cucumbers and shallot and press them under the brine.
- Let sit 30 minutes, stirring once.
- Move to a jar with the brine and refrigerate.
The extras
Dodge the Carbs
Leave out the sugar, or use a sugar-free sweetener.
Future You
Keeps 2 weeks in the fridge, and gets more sour as it goes.
Show Off
Make a second jar with carrot matchsticks, radish coins and a sliced jalapeno. That jar is halfway to the Banh Mi Chop.
Flavor Bomb
Add a few black peppercorns and a strip of lemon zest to the brine, or a smashed slice of fresh ginger for an Asian-style pickle.
Heat Dial
Mild: as written. Warm: a pinch of red pepper flakes in the brine. Hot: a sliced jalapeno or serrano pickled right in with the cucumbers.
Keep Your Fingers
On a mandoline, guard and glove, every time.
