PICKLED RADISHES

I had toyed with the idea of pickling radishes for a while, but when Paul and I had dinner one evening at The Community Table in Washington, Connecticut, I knew they were going on my “to pickle list.”

Community Table’s Executive Chef Joel Viehland has an extensive background having worked with numerous well-respected chefs throughout his career, including Chef Katy Sparks at Gramercy Tavern, Chez es Saada (now closed) and Quilty’s in Soho (also shuttered); with Chef Susan Spicer and Chef Donald Link at Herbsaint in New Orleans, and later spent two years at Noma, at that time a small two-star Michelin restaurant. While he was there, San Pellegrino’s Top 50 Restaurants in the World ranked the restaurant third in the world, and I believe Noma is currently ranked Number One.

Community Table’s approach to cuisine “is rooted in timeless cooking techniques and methods of preserving foods. Cooking seasonally and only with food gathered from the surrounding environment,” and like myself they believe that our triangle of Litchfield County, Connecticut; Dutchess County, New York; and Berkshire County, Massachusetts are home to some of the most amazing farms in the United States. Because the restaurant serves only seasonal and locally grown and procured food including foraged foods, their menu changes daily. To find out more about this amazing restaurant click here.

The salad I enjoyed the evening we had dinner this past spring was laced with quarters of a delicately sweet pickled spring radish. Returning home I searched through my pickling and preserving library and came up with a recipe I hope would make Joel proud. It certainly made my taste buds happy and I hope it does the same for yours.

The radishes will loose some of their color turning pinkish throughout.  You can do these as "refrigerator pickles" or run them through a hot water bath and keep them on the shelf for a longer period.  Of course, the longer you keep them in the pantry the less crispness they will have, but they will still be delicious.

I have been using more honey and less sugar over the years, but because I wanted a more intense " sweet and sour" flavor I went with raw sugar in this recipe.

PICKLED RADISHES

INGREDIENTS

3/4  cup Rice Vinegar

2 Tablespoons Raw Sugar

2 Teaspoons finely chopped Ginger

1Teaspoon Black Peppercorns

1 Teaspoon finely chopped Dill Weed (optional)

2 bunches Radish

DIRECTIONS

Wash and trim radishes; if they are smaller leave whole or cut in half.

Combine Rice Vinegar, Raw Sugar, Ginger, Peppercorns and Dill in non-reactionary saucepan over medium heat until sugar is dissolved and flavors are incorporated. Remove from heat.

If you want to refrigerate, toss radishes with dressing, pack in containers, and place in refrigerator.  Wait several days for radishes to marinade. Serve in salad or as a side dish.

If preparing for pantry, pack radishes into sterilized jars (about  2-3 pints), ladle liquid evenly between jars leaving about 1/4 inch of head space, process pint jars  in a Hot Water Bath for 10 minutes.

If you do not have enough pickling liquid simply add more vinegar to jars  Will last on shelf for up to a year.  

Refrigerate after opening.

Hot Water Bath or Pressure Canning

PICKLED RHUBARB

 



A spring treasure, rhubarb, the season’s first, and in my case favorite “fruit”, is delicious and good for you. It can be enjoyed throughout the summer, but as far as I am concerned springtime is the best time for rhubarb.

Botanically, rhubarb is a vegetable. A close relative of garden sorrel, rhubarb’s long red stalks are crisp when raw, but cook down into a mush that is perfect for preserves, relishes, chutneys, sauces, and yes, pies.

Rhubarb is often found in recipes that interplay sweet and sour. Affectionately known as the “pie plant”, its classic pairing is with strawberries, as in Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie, but there are so many other culinary possibilities to explore, like pickled rhubarb or rhubarb chutney.

Alice Waters, who likens the tart-flavored veggie to “the smell of earth in spring,” is a fan. Known for its diuretic and anti-inflammatory properties, rhubarb has long been used in natural medicine. Also worth noting, rhubarb is low in calories and high in calcium (almost a third of your recommended daily amount) and potassium, plus minerals, fiber, folate, with plenty of vitamins and iron too, just don't eat the leaves, they are poisonous.

 

SPICY PICKLED RHUBARB

INGREDIENTS

1 pound trimmed Rhubarb

2 Cups Apple Cider Vinegar

1/2 Cup Honey

1/2-inch piece Ginger, peeled and thinly sliced

1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt

2 dried Chili Peppers

1 teaspoon whole Cloves

4 Whole Allspice

 

DIRECTIONS

Boil vinegar, honey, salt, ginger and spices until honey and salt dissolve completely(approximately 5 minutes after coming to a slow boil).

Cut rhubarb into batons long enough to fill each jar. For half-pint jars or smaller, slice rhubarb into half-inch pieces.

Pack Rhubarb into sterilized jars distributing the spices as evenly as possible.

Pour pickling brine over fruit, screw on lids, and allow to cool.

Refrigerate for six months or more.

Note: This pickle is best refrigerated, though it can go through a canning process, (Hot Water Bath for 10 minutes) which will soften the fruit to mush, but is delicious on top of a baked brie, or rolled into a pork tenderloin, stuffed into pork chops, blended with cream cheese, perfect for tossing on summer salads - the possibilites are endless.

SWEET RHUBARB PICKLE

INGREDIENTS

2 pounds Rhubarb, trimmed and peeled

2 cups Raw Sugar

1 3/4 cups Cider Vinegar

1 teaspoon Ground Ginger

4 teaspoon Yellow Mustard Seeds (optional)

6 Cloves

1 Cinnamon Stick or 1/4 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

Zest and Juice of 1 Orange

DIRECTIONS

Cut the Rhubarb into 1 and 2 inch pieces. Do not peel.

Over medium heat dissolve the sugar in the vinegar; add the zest and juice of the orange, and  the ginger, mustard seeds, cloves, and cinnamon.

Bring to a slow boil. Simmer carefully for 10 minutes.

Place Rhubarb (same as recipe above) carefully in sterilized jars. Reduce the liquid by boiling until syrupy.

Pour the syrup into sterilized jars to ¼ inch and seal.

Then either let cool and place in refrigerator for use up to 6 months OR cure in boiling hot water bath for 15 minutes and keep on pantry shelf for up to one year.

RHUBARB CHUTNEY

I found this recipe in an older issue of New Zealand Woman’s Weekly. They called this a pickle, but it seems a bit more chutney-like to me, so my version is called Rhubarb Chutney. I did the conversions for you. This one I am finishing in a hot water bath and putting on the pantry shelf for gifts. Of course, the article noted that this recipe goes quite well with spring lamb.

INGREDIENTS

2 pounds Rhubarb

1 pound Videlia Onions

2 tablespoons Kosher Salt

2-1/2cups White Vinegar

2 cups Brown Sugar

1 tablespoon Curry Powder

1 tablespoon Dry Mustard Powder

1/2 teaspoon Ground White Pepper

1/2 Cup Raisins or Dried Cranberries

plus 2 Tablespoons Cornflour

2 Tablespoons White Vinegar

DIRECTIONS

Wash rhubarb. Trim ends, removing any leaves. Cut into 2 inch pieces. Place in a non-metallic bowl. Peel onions and chop roughly. Place onions in a second non-metallic bowl. Sprinkle salt over rhubarb and onion. Cover both with warm water and leave for six hours or overnight.

Bring undrained onion mixture to the boil in a large saucepan. Add raisins (or cranberries), rinse and drain Rhubarb and add to onion mixture with vinegar. Cook until rhubarb is soft.

Stir in sugar, curry powder, mustard and pepper. Return to the boil.

In small bowl whisk cornflour and second measure of vinegar to form a paste. Stir slowly into hot Rhubarb mixture and let boil gently until thick.

Spoon into hot, clean jars and seal. Cure in Hot Water Bath for 15 minutes. Keep in pantry for up to one year.

Makes 6 cups

You may choose to preserve food at home to save money, to have greater control over what you consume, or just for the joy of it. Regardless of the reasons, it is important to do it safely. Using the proper equipment, as well as following recommended guidelines and recipes can ensure that the food you preserve at home is safe and delicious.


Safe Canning Guidelines