Quick Veggie “Preservation” Recipes

~submitted by Elizabeth Waddington

Don’t have time to fuss with traditional cucumber pickling or don’t have enough green beans ready at one time to make dilly beans? Try these ideas for a “fresh” take on veggie condiments.

An easy way to remember the difference between the two processes despite their overlap is that pickling involves putting food into an acidic brine to produce a sour flavor, where-as fermenting gives food a sour flavor without any added acid.

Mak Kimchi (Korean Fermented Vegetables)

Kimchi

Ingredients

3-8 pounds napa cabbage

2 bunches green onions trimmed of the root bits

2-3 large carrots peeled, thinly julienned

1/2 cup kosher salt

1/2 cup Korean chili powder

15-20 cloves garlic, peeled (overdoing garlic makes this stay on your breath more than usual)

4-6 inches ginger peeled, rough chopped

1 tablespoon fish sauce

unsweetened pear juice or unsweetened apple juice

4 tablespoons white miso paste

Instructions

Cut the napa cabbage in half longways, then in half again longways. Cut the core out of the four quarters. Cut the cabbage into squares (about 2-3 inches square), pop it in a bowl with the carrots. Sprinkle with the 1/2 cup kosher salt, massage so everything is coated in salt and starting to soften and wilt. Fill with cold, chlorine free water to cover it well and let it soak for at least 1 1/2 hours.

Pour the cabbage and carrots and liquid into a strainer. Let the brine drain away.

Cut off the white bits of the green onions and put them in a food processor with the garlic cloves, ginger, miso paste, and Korean pepper powder. Microwave on high ’til it’s smooth-ish. Add in the fish sauce and a couple of slops of pear juice and zap it more until it’s about pancake batter consistency… maybe a bit thinner.

Put the brined cabbage/carrots in a big, anti-reactive (glass, enamel, or stainless steel) bowl. Rough chop the green parts of the onions and add those to the cabbage/carrots. Pour the chili paste combo over the cabbage and wear gloves to massage it all over the cabbage/carrots/green onions so everything is completely covered.

Pack super tight in canning jars. CRAM it in there. Add a two-piece lid, but just set the ring in place to hold the lid down without screwing it in place. Place it on a rimmed baking dish to catch any spill-over. Let it sit at room temperature for up to 72 hours, until it is bubbly and fragrant. Once every day, insert a clean chopstick or butter knife to release air bubbles. If needed, pour in some additional brine to keep all the vegetables submerged.

Store in the refrigerator for up to six months, being sure that the vegetables are submerged the whole time. The older it gets, the stronger it will become.

1. Add a little kimchi to breakfast burritos or scrambles.

2. Slip a forkful into lunch wraps and sandwiches or to hot dogs and burgers.

3. Add some kimchi to grilled cheese sandwiches.

4. Stir a forkful of fermented veggies into sauces for salmon, tuna, or crab fish cakes. Easy and delicious.

5. Add a few forkfuls of kimchi to stir-fries and rice bowls.

6. Top off green salads with fermented veggies.

Giardiniera (Italian Pickled Vegetables)

Giardiniera

This recipe does not require processing in a hot water bath because the vinegar-brine solution is all that’s necessary in this case to preserve the vegetables; be sure to use a good-quality vinegar for the best results.

Ingredients

1 quart (1 liter) white wine vinegar, plus more as needed

1 to 2 bay leaves

2 to 3 whole cloves

1 teaspoon peppercorns

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 medium head cauliflower

10 ounces (250 grams) pearl onions, peeled and soaked in cold water for 1 hour

10 ounces (250 grams) carrots, peeled and cut into rounds or sticks

10 ounces (250 grams) celery, stripped of filaments and cut into small chunks

Instructions

Pour the vinegar into a large, non-reactive pot (such as stainless steel, glass, or enameled cast iron—do not use an alu-minum or uncoated iron or cast-iron pot to avoid unpleasantly metallic-tasting pickles).

Set pot over high heat and add the bay leaves, cloves, peppercorns, and salt, and bring to a boil.

Separate the cauliflower into florets.

When the vinegar comes to a boil, add the cauliflower, onions, carrots, and celery. Lower the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cooked vegetables to the sterilized jars and pour the hot vinegar over them. (Have more boiling-hot vinegar handy in case you need more to top off the jars.)

Seal the jars tightly and let them cool.

Store them in the refrigerator for up to one month. The longer they sit, the more robust the flavor will become.

Note: The vegetables listed in this recipe are the standard, most common ones, but you can add other things to suit your taste, for example mushrooms, green beans, zucchini, cucumbers, hot peppers, or artichoke hearts. Feel free to experiment with the spices as well—mustard seeds, for example, would work well in this recipe.