Making tasty, gorgeous pickles year round is such an easy way to add flavor and texture to a meal or cheese board. Invest just a few minutes and you have a jar of crunchy brilliance to turn to again and again in your fridge.
Slice a red onion, red cabbage, or a mix of cauliflower, carrots, and peppers as thinly as you can and place in a jar.
Put 1 t salt and 1 t sugar (or less, or none) in a pyrex measuring jug and add 1 cup of just-boiled water.
Mix until the salt is dissolved.
Add 1 cup of vinegar and mix.
Pour over the sliced veggies into the jar; make sure everything is submerged.
Leave to cool, then place in the fridge.
Onions and cabbage are ready to eat within an hour. Cauliflower may take a little longer to pickle.
Red beets are delicious pickled: either boil or roast them, then use the same pickling method, or grate them and truly quick pickle them.
Add thinly sliced garlic or onions, mustard seeds (or coriander, dill, or fennel), bay leaves, all spice, peppercorns, or chili; change up your type of vinegar.
Use beet pickle juice to make pretty pink hardboiled eggs.
Pickles can get as complicated as you like, but even the simplest and most basic vinegar bath will create something that can turn a meal from mundane to mouthwatering.
