Just when i felt the need to confess my lack of jar filling over the past few weeks over here i had an epiphany in the kitchen. well, not quite an epiphany but you get the point – i put something in jars.
We’ve been making a lot of quick stir-frys over the last couple of weeks, having found ourselves with a lot of greens and a desire to cook them up as fast as possible and get outta the kitchen (yes, ’cause we can’t stand the heat). on one such night i saw M searching around the refrigerator shelves exclaiming, “this stir-fry needs a crunchy pickle, what do we have?”
I was like (ahem) ”nada.” Peeps, i have a reputation to uphold, and even though you dear readers are the forgiving type (and M is too of course) there is just something wrong in my world if my husband comes out of the fridge or larder pickleless!
So you know, i went out to the garden and deftly slayed 3 pounds of kohlrabi, then went down into the cellar and got my paws on an empty half gallon jar. this is what i did:
Quick kohlrabi pickles
adapted from the joy of pickling
- 3 pounds kohlrabi, peeled and cut into 1 inch slices about 1/4 inch thick
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 & 1/2 inch knob of ginger, peeled and julienned
- 5 large cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
- 4 tablespoons sugar (if your kohlrabi is really sweet, take this down 1/2 tablespoon)
- 1-2 dried hot chiles, crushed
- 1 tablespoon whole allspice berries, lightly crushed
- zest of one large lemon, peeled in long strips
- 2 cups rice vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
- 2 cups water
- yield: 1 half gallon
- toss the kohlrabi slices with salt and let sit for one hour, drain.
- add the drained kohlrabi slices to the half gallon jar, you can of course split it in two and use quart jars. as you are adding the kohlrabi, sprinkle the crushed red pepper evenly in between. give the jar a little shake at the end.
- in a sauce pan bring the rest of the ingredients to the boil. as soon as it comes to the boil pour into the jar over the kohlrabi. let cool, cap and place in the fridge.
These quick pickles will be ready to eat in 3 days and will last for a month or more in the fridge. they are crunchy, and very versatile. perfect with asian stir-frys, and would not be out of place on the side of a grilled cheese sandwich either.
So you see, pickles, quick!