Lunch for us at this time of the year is usually a collection of fridge fixings such as leftover ham and barbecued meats, smoked fish and cheeses, set out on the table with fresh bread and salad for everyone to help themselves.
Pickles complete this sort of meal and “quick pickles” seem to be the thing this year, so I’ve asked Laurie Black for a recipe. Here’s what she says:
I found a terrific recipe for pickled radishes recently, and made a couple of batches in rapid succession. Before I knew it I had tweaked the recipe, added more vegetables, and seen the whole lot disappear so quickly I had to make more.
I particularly like these pickles served alongside pate on French bread, but you can put the jar out to have with anything you like — from fried chicken or fish and chips through to soy beef skewers on rice.
Ingredients
6 radishes, washed and trimmed
4 baby carrots, peeled
6cm piece cucumber, halved and deseeded
4 tsp salt
3cm piece ginger, peeled and cut in matchsticks
4 Tbsp caster sugar
75ml rice wine vinegar (not seasoned sushi vinegar)
1 Tbsp water
6 black peppercorns
6 coriander seeds
Directions
1. Cut small radishes in half and large ones in quarters. Halve carrots lengthwise, or cut in thick slices if they are unusually fat. Slice cucumber.
2. Place vegetables in a bowl and toss with salt to combine. Set aside for 30 minutes, then transfer to a sieve so juices can drain (do not rinse). Pat dry with a paper towel. Transfer vegetables to a jar or bowl, and add ginger.
3. Dissolve sugar in vinegar and water with peppercorns and coriander seeds over low heat. Pour over vegetables. Allow liquid to cool then cover and refrigerate pickles for at least 1½ hours before serving.
4. Pickles are at their crunchy best in the first 2 days, but will keep, refrigerated, for 2 weeks.
