Pickled Cauliflower

This recipe is from Too Many Tomatoes, Squash, Beans, and Other Good Things: A Cookbook for When Your Garden Explodes. It was originally published in 1976 and republished in 1991. It is one of my go-to vegetable cookbooks because so many of the recipes are simple, tasty, and full of veggies. Since it's from the Dark Ages, it also avoids some of the annoying things one finds in newer cookbooks, my primary pet peeve being the use of "superfoods" and trendy ingredients. Though I am a trained chef and I adore interesting food, I often fall back on tried-and-true recipes from the past because they are simple and they work. In this case, it might even get you to eat your vegetables, which isn't a bad thing.

If you happen to have an exploding garden (I do, on occasion: see here and here), this cookbook will be your friend in times of overabundance. If you don't have a garden, fear not, dear reader! Produce goes on sale and this cookbook will help you create delicious veggie-filled dishes from cheap supermarket produce too.

Cauliflower Antipasto
Quick Pickled Cauliflower & Carrots
(makes about 6 cups)

1 medium head cauliflower (about 1 ¼ pounds)
4 medium carrots, peeled
⅔ cup cider vinegar
⅔ cup water
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 ½ Tablespoons sugar
1 large clove garlic, smashed
1 teaspoon dried Greek oregano
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper

Trim off leaves from cauliflower. Peel lower stalk because it is quite fibrous. Cut the cauliflower into bite-sized pieces. Slice carrots ¼ inch thick. Place the cauliflower, carrots, and remaining ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a boil, reduce the temperature to low, and simmer for 10 minutes. Allow to cool slightly and transfer to a container for storage. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours for best flavor though it tastes pretty good fresh from the pot. Will keep at least a week, refrigerated.

Pickled Salmon

This is a tried and true Passover recipe in my house but its popularity goes way beyond the Seder. This delicious salmon is so much better than the traditional gefilte fish. I know there are people who adore the yearly gefilte fish but I am not one of them.

The recipe makes quite a bit of pickled salmon so I suggest you make it for a dinner party or even a brunch. It will keep in the brine for about 4 days past when it is pickled (takes 3 days for the initial pickling) but I wouldn't push it much further than that.

I pulled this recipe out of the New York Times years ago. It's by Joyce Goldstein, one of the finest chefs out there. I wholeheartedly recommend her book Kitchen Conversations.

Joyce Goldstein's Pickled Salmon
(serves 12 as an appetizer)

2 cups white vinegar
1 ½ cups water
6 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons kosher salt
2 pounds salmon fillets, skin removed
2 Tablespoons pickling spices
6 bay leaves
2 white or yellow onions, sliced ¼" thick

Bring vinegar, water, sugar, and salt to a boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.

Cut salmon into 1" x 2" chunks. In a non-metallic bowl or crock, make a layer of  ⅓ of the salmon. Sprinkle on some of the pickling spice, a couple of bay leaves, and ⅓ of the onions. Build 2 more layers. Pour on the brine. Cover and refrigerate for 3 days. Serve cold with matzoh, crackers or a hearty dark or rye bread.

Chunk Pickles

The verdict is in (on the pickles I made back in August). These are delicious. Sweet and spicy. Nice tang and good crunch. One reason I like this recipe is you can use any size of cucumbers, not just pickling cukes. My garden isn't big enough to produce enough pickling cukes at once (I hope to change that next year when I take out a tree to get more sunlight on my garden). The original recipe calls for alum. Alum is not added to pickles anymore, so I've left it out. I also up'ed the amount of syrup. The original recipe didn't make enough to fill all the jars. I left the proportions the same.

Chunk Pickles
(makes about 5 pints)

Making Pickles

My latest project...called chunk pickles. An old recipe from a book called Preserving in Today's Kitchen by Jeanne Lesem, where "today" is circa 1985. The description says the recipe is way older than 1985, however. I've found lots of great recipes from this book: the recipe for quick dills on my School of Eating Good blog is from the same book. These are not quick pickles. They need to sit for about a day and a half in salt water, get packed in jars, heated (though not actually canned), and covered in brine. Then they sit for 2 months. So, no recipe for these since I have no idea how they are going to turn out. Come back in mid-October to find out.