Pickled Radish
The humble radish is everywhere just now. My pinterest and instagram feeds abound with glorious coloured pink red and orange bulbs. They are not a vegetable I use very often – (because the rest of my family hate them)…..but they are so pretty, I am determined to change their minds.
Radish are closely related to turnips, mustard and horseradish – so they have that glorious peppery but slightly sweet taste – I probably didn’t like them either when I was 10.
Seriously are there any vegetables prettier than this? The ones I used are French Breakfast Radishes, and were only 80p for a bunch at the farmers market. Bargain!
Chop
Wash the bulbs and slice finely. Abbi was enlisted as my sous chef, and luckily we managed to avoid pickling a finger or two.
Place in a sterilised jam jar and press down firmly. I haven’t given any measurements, as it will depend upon how many radish are your bunch, the size of the jar you use and how tightly you press them in.
Top up with vinegar and a teaspoon of mustard seeds. In terms of choosing a vinegar, I tend to go for plain old white. Not only is it ludicrously cheep, it has a cleaner taste, so lets the flavour of the vegetable you are pickling come through. We also get through a LOT of mini gherkins – I try and reuse the pickle liquor from that if I have any veg to hand that can be thrown in it.
I have pickled before with white wine, and cider vinegars, but for me, the flavour of the vinegar tends to overpower the vegetables. Its not quite to my taste – Radishes are fairly robust however and can take it – so feel free to use whatever you have.
Fill to the brim, and seal. Leave for about a week – the vinegar will go pink. And either make pretty labels with paper, or be lazy like me and use a chalk marker.
This particular batch was a gift for a friend, along with some other pink goodies.
Im not sure why I thought pickling radishes would be the vehicle to change my families mind. They definitely haven’t – But these are my new favourite pickle.
They make a very pretty addition to salads. Or add them to toast and cheese – especially goats cheese.
