Quick Pickles for Fall

Spice up your autumn meals with pickled fresno chiles! Not up for the heat? Try out these recipes from Chef Andy Elliot of Modern Bird Bakery for some of our other fall favorites: carrots, kohlrabi, cauliflower, and beets.

Pickled Fresno Chiles

Ingredients*

1 lb fresno chiles, cut into quarter inch rings
5 garlic cloves, sliced thin
1/2 cup sugar
distilled vinegar, as needed
Salt, to taste

Directions

In a large bowl toss the chiles, salt and garlic together. Allow to macerate for half an hour.

Place chile/sugar mixture and any residual juices in a canning jar or similar vessel, allow for 1” of space at the top of the jar. Pour in distilled vinegar until chiles are just covered. refrigerated.

Chiles are best after sitting for a week. They will last about a month in the refrigerator.

Note: Fresnos are about as hot as jalapeño. If you prefer something a little less spicy you can remove the seeds and pith from the chiles and rinse the sliced rings in a bit of cold water before continuing the rest of this recipe.

Pickled Red Beets

Ingredients*

3 large or 6 small red beets
1 lemon
red wine vinegar as needed
3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 bay leaf
water, as needed
Salt, to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash beets and place them in a baking dish. Pour equal parts water and vinegar into the dish until beets are covered about a third up. Halve the lemon and squeeze it into the dish, place lemon halves in the dish. Add bay leaf, drizzle olive oil over the top, season with salt

Cover tightly with foil twice, so that steam will not escape the pan. Bake from 1-2 hrs or until a knife can pierce the beet with no resistance.

While beets are hot, peel them with a dry kitchen towel. After peeling, cut them into desired shape and thickness. Strain reserved cooking liquid over the beets until covered and refrigerate. Beets will keep up to two weeks in the refrigerator.

Curry Pickled Carrots

Ingredients*

1 lb carrots, cut into rough half-inch pieces
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp garam masala
3 garlic cloves, sliced thin 
1 ½  cup sugar
1 ½  cup apple cider vinegar
Salt, to taste

Pickled Kohlrabi

Ingredients*

1 large kohlrabi cut into 1/8  x 2 in strips
1 tbs pickling spice
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup distilled vinegar
Salt to taste

Pickled Purple Cauliflower

Ingredients*

1 head purple cauliflower, cut into florets
1 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp coriander seeds
1 bay leaf
Salt to taste

Note: This will work for any color cauliflower, however it’s best to swap out the red wine vinegar for distilled or apple cider vinegar with different color.

Directions

Combine vinegar, sugar, spices and salt in a small pot. Bring to a boil.

Place vegetables in jar or similar vessel. Make sure there is about 1” space between the top of the container and the vegetables.

Once sugar/vinegar mixture has come to a boil:

Curry Pickled Carrots: immediately pour over carrots and garlic, place a piece of wax paper on top to keep submerged.

Pickled Kohlrabi: allow mixture to cool to room temperature and pour over kohlrabi

Purple Cauliflower: strain the liquid over cauliflower, place a piece of wax paper on top to keep submerged.

Allow to come to room temperature and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. 

Recipes courtesy of Chef Andy Elliott of Modern Bird Bakery. He shared these recipes at a recent cooking demo at the Sara Hardy Farmers Market. Follow Modern Bird Bakery on Instagram @modernbirdbakery