Refrigerator Pickle Recipe : Lightly Pickled Vegetables for Salads

Lightly Pickled Vegetables for Salads

My favourite vegetables for these crisp and tasty vegetable refrigerator pickles recipe are English cucumbers, carrots and cauliflower. They are cut in chunks, very lightly pickled with a lovely sweet sour taste. Excellent as finger foods for informal entertainment, they last in the fridge for up to a week.

I have often made these and have always used different amounts of vegetables so have no fixed recipe for ingredients. I give basic guidelines and individual taste should guide you. I like sweet pickles, others might not. I like the taste of pickling spice, you might not.

Carrots are best cleaned and cut into chunks about 2½ cm across.

Cauliflower should be broken into small florets.

All vegetables should be as fresh as possible.

Dunk the prepared carrots and cauliflower into rapidly boiling water until the water comes back to the boil, after which they are drained and immediately put into another container with cold water, stopping the boiling process. This is called par-boiling and after this they are crisply half cooked and ready for pickling.

The English cucumbers are not peeled, are cut into chunks or sliced thinly, sprinkled liberally with salt to eliminate extra moisture and drained after about 10 minutes when they have become quite limp. Rinse off extra salt and drain off all rinsing water

Pickling mixture for cucumber slices: Mix hot water, sugar and vinegar to taste and pour this over the cucumber slices. It should only be mildly sweet-sour as you are making a salad preparation and not a proper pickle. It should last in the fridge for about a week covered in the pickling brine.

Pickling mixture for carrots and cauliflower: Boil water, sugar and vinegar together in the same proportion as in step 3 and then add pickling spice, switch off the stove and let the mixture steep until lukewarm. Then pour it over the carrots and cauliflower and refrigerate for up to a week in their brine.

Note:

These lightly pickled vegetables retain their color and are very attractive

They are tasty as well when added to platters of snacks and cold meats at receptions or on a small scale at drinks parties or bring-a-plate functions such as PTA meetings and barbecues.

Make it your specialty and you will never scratch your head again about what to take to a social gathering as everyone will look forward to your tasty vegetables!

The pickled cucumber slices are great on sandwiches with cold meat, can be added to a green salad or served as a salad on its own.