Saturday, June 27, 2009

Cauliflower Pickles

The last few weeks, my CSA box has included a head of cauliflower. I like cauliflower, but I don't love it. Except when it's made into Alton Brown's Hurry Curry Cauliflower.

Start with a head of cauliflower cut in florets (I used two heads, and not all of it fit in the jar, so I put the rest in the fridge to add as we eat the pickles). Saute the cauliflower with a couple of cloves of smashed garlic, minced ginger and a variety of spices, when slightly tender put it in a glass jar and add rice and cider vinegars (I double the amount of vinegar the recipe calls for--I never have enough to cover all my cauliflower), salt and sugar. Saute until it softens slightly (not tender or mushy!), adding one or two tablespoons of water if the spices are on the verge of burning, and refrigerate for a week to let it cure.

The beauty of this dish is that it's quick to put together and delivers big flavor. You can substitute or supplement it with other vegetables (I've used carrots in the past) and increase or decrease the amount of curry, and still get great pickles. They're a wonderful addition to salads or as a vegetable with dinner after a 100 degree day (like today!)

So the next time you have a head of cauliflower and you want something cool and refreshing, call on this simple and delicious recipe. Mine's in the fridge, and I'm counting down the days until I can pop open the lid and grab a few for a snack.

6 comments:

margot said...

I like cauliflower, but I don't have many recipes for it and usually end up roasting it. I went and saw the author of a book called "Jam it, Pickle it, Cure it" yesterday, and I'm looking forward to pickling some veggies this summer.

Jessica said...

Yum, and I don't even like cauliflower. I do, however, love pickled vegetables and this looks outstanding. This might be a way for me to enjoy cauliflower. Thanks for sharing the recipe!

Unknown said...

How long does this take in the fridge?

For me this:

"I like cauliflower, but I don't love it. Except when it's "

goes like this: "fried in bacon grease and covered in cheese"

--Nick

Anonymous said...

Pickled cauliflower sounds delicious. I'll have to try it one day.

Teanna DiMicco said...

I LOVE curried cauliflower! And now I can have it pickled, too? I have to try this!

Cakelaw said...

These look great. I just made cauliflower pickle a week ago - but mine are mustard pickle. They ended up very vinegary, but they are great on a ham or corned beef sandwich. Will have to post about them soon!