homemade veg pickle in jars alongside bread with pickles on top

Easy homemade pickle

Using leftover crunchy veg

homemade veg pickle in jars alongside bread with pickles on top

20 mins

Super easy

makes 1

About the recipe

Instead of wasting unwanted bits of veg, why not try one of the coolest kitchen tricks by making your own great little house pickle?


nutrition per serving

29

Calories


0.1g

Fat


0g

Saturates


3.9g

Sugars


1.3g

Salt


0.7g

Protein


5g

Carbs


0.8g

Fibre


of an adult’s reference intake


Recipe From

Save with Jamie

Save with Jamie

By Jamie Oliver

Ingredients

400g crunchy veg, such as radishes, carrots, red onion, cauliflower, cucumber

250ml vinegar, such as white wine, red wine or cider

1 tablespoon sea salt

1 tablespoon caster sugar

optional: fresh dill

optional: mustard seeds

Top Tip

You can also include other fragrant ingredients in the mix, such as garlic, fresh chilli or ginger, turmeric or horseradish. See my Easy Swaps tips for more ideas.

Method

  1. Cut or slice up the veg into fine or chunky pieces, depending on what you’re looking for. I quite like purposely cutting each veg differently – some diced, some into erratic chunks, some sliced delicately and some more thickly.
  2. Place all the veg in a sterilised airtight jar, add 125ml of water, along with the vinegar, salt, sugar and herbs and spices, if using. Close the lid and give it a good shake.
  3. Keep in the fridge for up to 8 weeks, or you can absolutely use it right away – it will start off tasting quite sharp and crunchy, then relax into itself over a period of a few weeks. This pickle is brilliant in sandwiches and salads, on a cheese board, or as a side to curries and stir-fries.

  • Other veg that would work a treat are broccoli (including the stalk), celery, French beans, mangetout, artichokes and asparagus. Watch out for red or purple veg like beets and red cabbage – they’re delicious, but tend to turn everything else in the jar pink, so I like to keep them in their own pink little world.
  • When it comes to herbs, try rosemary, bay, tarragon, fennel or marjoram.
  • On the spice front, cardamom, fennel or cumin seeds, dried chilli or saffron are all a delight.

You can double or treble the quantities of the pickling liquid, depending on what you have left over and how big your jar is – feel free to make it your own.

To sterilise your jar, simply boil it with the lid and any utensils you’re going to use to fill the jar, for 15 minutes, making sure not to use any unsterile items until after you’ve sealed the jar.

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