Feeling Pickly?

Sam's Pickles. 

What is it about making your own hand-crafted, self made food goods?  

 That bizarre feeling you get when making your own jam or beer or in this instance pickle. What gets us so wound up with excitement and competitiveness? 

Not to sound OTT but to me when we take ownership over raw materials and jar them up into personalised flavour bombs we initiate in 'Soul Cooking.' Yep, i went there. 

Think about it these jars are bottles of you, an extension of yourself in edible form. 

Doesn't get more anthropologically wacky than that! 

But seriously, on the most basic of human levels it is this kind of cooking that feeds the soul, fulfils the mind and makes us happy. Or maybe thats just me... 

So back to my pickles. This was my first try at the pickling world, and i still have much more to learn, but i'm quite happy with the result. Using my knowledge of spices i came up with a personalised blend that used all my favourite flavours. Which again is the beauty of pickling, you get to choose what goes in! 

I was inspired to pickle after reading 'Cooked' by Michael Pollan. It was this book that made me fall head over heals with the idea of eating bacteria... Weird right?? But in all seriousness there is a lesson to be learnt by all western dieters about bacteria and the goodness it can do for your gut. What i'm talking about is probiotics, which refer to the enzymes in foods that encourage good bacterial growth. These can be found in fermented foods like yoghurt, kimchi and sauerkraut and its these bad boys that could change the face of nutrition. 

Enough chit chat lets get into my pickle, Sam's pickle is full to the brim with happily functioning pickle properties. (What a mouthful) All the ingredients working to better your body. In particular is the apple cider vinegar which is known to have thirty plus nutrients and amino acids 

-Note not all apple cider vinegars are made the same when you buy it make sure its organic and unfiltered. This way we know it will be full of beneficial bacteria, minerals and enzymes.

This recipe isn't quick but it's a worthwhile lesson to learn about food creation. Some things just take time, and if you've never made something like this before you may be surprised by your excitement to take the lid off your pickle 6 weeks after bottling! So give it a try, cook from the soul and be creative with your flavour combinations! 

Sams' Pickle. 

Ingredients:

VEG MIX:

1 cauliflower, cut into flourettes.

1 bunch radish, quartered

1 lebanese cucumber, cut to small dice 

2 corn cobs, de-kernaled

1 knob ginger, julienne.

3 tbs salt.

LIQUID MIX:

1L unfiltered apple-cider-vinegar.

250g sugar

50g raw honey

5 cloves

3 bay leaves

1 tsp peppercorns 

SPICE MIX:

1 tsp sweet paprika 

2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp cumin 

2 tbs mustard seeds 

1 pinch nutmeg 

1tsp black pepper

1/2 cup corn flour

3tbs water. 

Zest of 1 lemon.

5 Large Jars.

Method: 

Toss the VEGETABLE MIX in the salt and leave it overnight in the fridge standing in a colander over a bowl. 

Rinse the veg, and bring the LIQUID MIX to the boil in a large saucepan. Meanwhile prepare your SPICE MIX by measuring all the spices and flour then adding the water to make a slurry. When the liquid mix is at the boil add the slurry and cook for about 5 minutes to form a thick golden liquid, taste at this point and adjust seasoning to your taste. Add the veg and mix through. Then bottle HOT pickle and leave in a cool place for 6 weeks. 

With great anticipation after 6 weeks spread this pickle onto fresh bread and sandwich it with ham and brie cheese for a delectable ploughman's delight!