Rare Treat: Pickled Radish, Daikon and Cucumber Recipes

PICKLED RADISH RECIPE

Ingredients

– 10 red radishes (trimmed, unpeeled, quartered)
– 10 garlic cloves
– 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
– 2 cups distilled white vinegar
– 1 teaspoon Olsson’s sea salt
– 1 teaspoon sugar

Preparation

1. Combine first three ingredients in a clean one-quart glass jar. Add vinegar, salt, and sugar. Cover; shake until sugar and salt begin to dissolve. Store in somewhere cool and dark, shaking once a day.

TURMERIC PICKLED DAIKON RECIPE

Ingredients

– 355mL water
– 355mL unseasoned rice vinegar
– 100g sugar
– 1 tablespoon Olsson’s sea salt
– 6 medium cloves garlic (halved lengthwise)
– 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
– 20 whole black peppercorns
– 6 bay leaves
– 450g daikon radish (peeled and cut into four quarter-inch strips)

Preparation

1. In a medium saucepan, stir together water, vinegar, sugar, salt, garlic, turmeric, peppercorns, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to ensure that the sugar fully dissolves. Remove from heat and add daikon. Press a paper towel directly agai222qwnst the surface of the brine and let cool to room temperature for one to two hours.

2. Transfer pickles and brine to an airtight glass container and store in the refrigerator.

THE BEST DILL PICKLES RECIPE

Ingredients

– 1 1/2 cups of water
– 1/4 cup kosher salt
– 1 teaspoon sugar
– 2 tablespoons black peppercorns
– 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
– 10 dried chillies
– 1/4 cup white vinegar
– 10–12 Lebanese cucumbers
– 8–10 garlic cloves (smashed)
– 10 dill sprigs
– Cheesecloth
– Rubber bands

Preparation

1. Combine half a cup of water, salt, sugar, peppercorns, coriander and chillies over high heat in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Add water and vinegar, stir to combine; let cool completely.

2. Scrub cucumbers to remove any dirt. Remove any tails or pieces of stem and cut in half lengthwise. (If you prefer them whole, that’s fine, just expect them to take an additional three to four days to fully ferment.) Divide cucumbers, garlic and dill sprigs among jars, making sure to pack the cucumbers tightly. Halve any remaining cucumbers crosswise to fill in the gap at the top.

3. Divide brine among jars, making sure to evenly distribute spices, leaving a quarter-inch gap at the top of the jar.

4. Cover jars with cheesecloth and secure it with a rubber band.

5. Store in a cool, dark place and try not to disturb. Check pickles after two days to see how they are coming along (how fast they ferment will depend on their size). At this stage, you should have what is called a ‘half-sour’. Let them sit for an additional two days for a ‘full-sour’.

6. Place lid firmly on jar and refrigerate.

BOOZE MATCH: 2015 BRUNO SCHUELLER GERWURTZTRAMINER

Selected by Dominique Lentz (Frenchman-in-Chief of La Buvette) and penned by Nikki Friedli

We cut work a little short to wander down to a favourite Africola haunt and harass one of our favourite people, Dominique Lentz, all around wonder human and part-time impersonator of Bret from Flight of the Cochords.

We got to talking about pickles and he whipped out a mighty fine bottle of 2015 Bruno Schueller Gerwurtztraminer from his home-region of Alsace. It’s a tinned peach pants-party that explodes in little pockets of white flowers, melon, and an acid lick that won’t quit. Having slugged it down with a bowl of pickled onions and cornichons, we can confirm it works, we’re just not entirely sure why.

MUSIC MATCH: CAN – TAGO MAGO

Seeing as we’re all over the shop on this one, I thought we’d roll with some classic confusion in the form of CAN’s 1971 short-but-sweet album, Tago Mago. CAN were an experimental West German experimental krautrock band fronted by iconic Japanese guy, Damo Suzuki.

Like pickles, they’re kind of magical and should be a staple in every home. Also, if you’ve ever wanted to know exactly what a pickled brain sounds like, this is probably the closest you’re going to get. Slippery, sticky, bittersweet, slightly uncomfortable, but somehow comforting — CAN are pickles for the ears.

africola.com.au