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cheats pickles

snacks and sides | Makes about 750g
This is a great pre-dinner nibble. It’s got all the flavour of proper pickles with half the work. They wont keep for more than a few days in the fridge obviously, but you can make it in small batches if you like – they’ll be gone very quickly.

1 Put all the ingredients for the carrots and all the ingredients for the cauliflower, each with a little salt and pepper, in two separate saucepans. The pans should be just big enough so that the pieces should be in one layer on the bottom. Place on the heat side by side, cover and bring to the boil.
2 Once the liquid has boiled for a few minutes, take the lids off and simmer till the vegetables are cooked but with a good crunch. Lift them out with a slotted spoon and put on a tray to cool.
3 For the olives, place sprigs of the marjoram in a mortar with a pinch of sea salt and crush to a pulp with the pestle. Add a little olive oil to loosen, then scoop into a bowl. Add the olives to the marjoram mix with a pinch of celery salt and a little pepper, then toss.
4 When the vegetables are cool, you can toss everything together, or keep them separate, and chill them. Just before serving, drizzle the easy pickles with olive oil and scatter with a few marjoram leaves.


Recipe by Pete Begg, Photography by Myles New