Quick Pickles & Seasonal Vegetables

Bert Gill, chef  and author of Pickled, Fried, and Fresh, shares his quick and versatile pickling recipe perfect for beginners.

“I have a great affection for all things pickled and have played around with this easy-to-execute recipe for years,” Gill says in his new book. “I find the key to a great pickle is using the freshest, in-season vegetables I can get my hands on. You can substitute any of the vegetables listed in this recipe with what you are able to find locally. We eat pickled vegetables with just about anything on the dinner table. Fresh pickles are the ultimate condiment because all the elements— sweet, sour, and salty — round out the flavor of any dish.”

2 ears corn, kernels cut from the stalk
1 cup beans (wax beans or green beans)
2 green tomatoes, chopped
2 peppers, seeded and sliced (red bell peppers recommended)
1 sweet onion, peeled and sliced
2 cups okra
1 sprig thyme
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. kosher salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water
1/4 cup vinegar

Toss all the vegetables in a bowl or deep metal pan and set aside. Combine all the other ingredients in a medium saute pan and cook over medium heat until sugar and salt have dissolved (about 3 to 4 minutes). Ladle just enough hot pickling mixture over the vegetables to cover them. Cover the container with plastic wrap and let sit for 24 hours in the refrigerator.

Quick Pickles are meant to be eaten fresh. Unless you are using a proper canning technique for longterm storage, you should serve these pickles within 7 days of preparing them.

Recipe courtesy of  Chef Bert Gill and photo by Wes Lindberg. Reprinted with permission of the University Press of Florida.