Pickled courgettes

After using up some of our home-grown courgettes in a loaf cake, the plants are producing yet more. Pickled courgettes are a good thing to make, so we can enjoy the mid-summer bonanza all year round.

I found a simple ‘pickled zucchini’ recipe on the Bon Appetit website to which I made just a couple of little tweaks. I couldn’t find any dill seeds or saffron threads in the supermarket, so I used fennel seeds in place of the former, and omitted the latter completely.

Instead of simply slicing the courgettes with a knife, I used our mandoline which gave the slices attractive grooves.

We’re really looking forward to trying the pickle – served on the side or incorporated into the dishes themselves. We’re thinking burgers, sandwiches, salads and stir fries.

They need to steep for at least a week, but we’ll probably wait till the autumn before tasting ours.

Click here or on the image below to save the recipe to Pinterest

Pickled courgettes

Bon Appétit

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Course Condiment

Cuisine British

Ingredients

1 kg/2lb small courgettes preferably about 4 or 8 inches long, trimmed
4 tbsp coarse sea salt or pickling salt divided
12 sprigs fresh dill
2 tsp yellow or brown mustard seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp dill seeds
¼ tsp saffron threads
4 cloves garlic halved
4 red chillis split lengthwise
600 ml/21fl oz white wine vinegar
50 g/1¾oz sugar

Instructions

If you're using 10cm/4-inch courgettes, halve lengthwise. If using 20cm/8-inch courgettes, halve crosswise, then quarter lengthwise
Put them into in a large bowl. Add 2 tbsp of the salt and 4 cups of ice. Add cold water to cover. Top with a plate to keep the courgettes submerged. Allow to sit for 2 hours. Drain and rinse
Divide the dill sprigs and next 6 ingredients between 2 clean, hot 1-litre glass jars and set aside
Bring the vinegar, sugar, remaining 2 tbsp of salt and 300ml/10½fl oz water to a boil in a large saucepan
Working in batches, add courgettes and cook, stirring occasionally, until khaki in colour and slightly pliable, about 2 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the courgettes to jars
Divide the hot syrup between the jars to cover courgettes, leaving a 1cm/½-inch space on top
Wipe the rims, seal and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes

Allow at least a week to pickle before eating

Keyword courgette, pickle, preserves, zucchini

Home-made damson cheese

After making use of some of the plum crop in our garden, I needed to find something to make with the damsons.

We inherited two mature damson trees – both about 20 foot tall. This autumn, they’ve both been laden with fruit, some we gave away, some we couldn’t reach to harvest. We kept about 5 kilos of fruit for ourselves.

I found lots of recipes for jam and jelly – however, it was a Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall recipe for damson cheese that I fancied trying. There are only 2 ingredients; damsons and sugar – and you don’t need to undertake the time-consuming task of de-stoning the fruit either.

The damson cheese mixture sat bubbling away on top of the simmering hob of our new Esse for a couple of hours until it resembled a thick chocolate sauce. All it needed was the occasional stir to make sure it didn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. I could get on with other little jobs while it did its thing.

Like jam and jelly, damson cheese keeps for months once wrapped and refrigerated. Have it as a component on your cheeseboard – it’s lovely with a ripe brie. It’s also a great accompaniment to hot & cold meats.

Click here to repin the recipe to Pinterest

Home-made damson cheese

Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall

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Course Condiment

Cuisine British

Ingredients

5 kg damsons washed
2 kg granulated sugar approx.

Instructions

Put the damsons in a large preserving pan, add a couple of tablespoons of water and bring slowly to a simmer, stirring as the fruit begins to release its juices. Leave to simmer until completely soft
Tip the contents of the pan into a sieve and rub it through to remove the stones and skin, leaving you with a smooth damson purée
Measure the purée by volume. For every 500ml, add 350g sugar
Combine in a large, heavy-based pan bringing it to a simmer over a low heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar, then cook gently, stirring regularly so it doesn't catch, until reduced to a thick purée. It's ready when you drag the spoon across the bottom of the pan and the base stays clearly visible for a second or two. This can take up to an hour of gentle, popping simmering and stirring
Pour the 'cheese' into very lightly-oiled, shallow containers and leave to cool and set

It will keep almost indefinitely in the fridge. Serve in slices with bread and cheese

Keyword baked cheesecake, damsons, fruit

Home-made piccalilli

This month, I’ve been making a lot of my usual preserves – raspberry jelly, elderflower cordial and the like. One I’ve not made before is piccalilli.

Growing up, a jar of piccalilli was always prominent on the Christmas dinner table. It used to be a staple accompaniment to the roast ham – and the cold meat sandwiches, cheese and pies in the following days.

I found numerous recipes in my collection of cook books; all much the same, with slight variations on the ratios of spices. I’ve made the recipe my own by adding mustard seeds and a couple of chillies for bite and colour.

The preparation takes place over two days – the veg needs to be soaked in salted water (the brine) for 24 hours.

Once that’s done, cooking is a quick 20-minute affair before decanting into jars.

The piccalilli is best left for at least 3 months before using to allow the flavours to develop. That leaves plenty of time before Christmas!

Save my recipe to Pinterest here.

Home-made piccalilli

2017-07-27 08:37:20

Ingredients

1.4kg/3lbs vegetables (I used 800g cauliflower, 300g courgettes, 160g onions, 125g fine beans, 15g red chillies)
2l/3½pts water
200g/7oz salt
1l/1¾pt distilled white vinegar or malt vinegar for pickling
140g/5oz Demerara sugar
1tbsp mustard seeds
1tbsp mustard powder
2tsp turmeric
1tsp ground ginger
1tsp mixed spice
1tbsp plain flour

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Instructions

Dissolve the salt into the water
Into a large mixing bowl, cut all the vegetables into even sized pieces
Pour the salted water (brine) over the vegetables making sure they're all submerged. Weigh them down with a plate and cover the bowl over with a tea towel. Leave to stand for 24 hours
Drain and put the vegetables into a large pan with the vinegar, sugar and spices. Simmer for 10-20 minutes depending on how soft or crunchy you like your veg
Using a slotted spoon or ladle, decant the vegetables into hot, sterilised jars (I needed 5 mayonnaise-sized jars)
Mix the flour into the spiced vinegar and boil for 1 minute before pouring into the jars of vegetables
Seal the lids tightly on to the jars
Store in a cool, dry cupboard for at least 3 months before using

H is for Home Harbinger https://hisforhomeblog.com/

Price Points: Preserve starter kits

Kitchen Craft preserving starter set, 4 pieces: £10, hobbycraft
VonShef 9L Maslin pan jam preserving starter set bundle: £32.99, Amazon
5-Pieces preserve starter set by Kilner: £69.99, Wayfair

One of the things I love about the start of autumn is making jams, jellies, pickles, chutneys and all manner of other preserves. I made a batch of apple and chilli jelly this week… the first of the season.

Late summer is spent foraging for fruit such as wild raspberries, elderberries and blackberries. They’re added to the redcurrants that were harvested from our allotment in and are made into mixed fruit jelly.

You really should try it – it’s really easy, satisfying and far superior to most shop bought stuff. Get yourself one of these preserve starter kits and you’ll be quickly on your way to making your own.

Each has its own merits however, I’ve chosen #2 as the best of the preserve starter kits for a number of reasons. The most important component is the jam/maslin pan. It needs to be large, sturdy and made of the right material. It needs to be made of a non-reactive material such as stainless steel. Reactive metals such as aluminium and untreated cast iron can give a metallic taste to the food and can also cause discolouration. The pan also needs to be a good conductor of heat, for example, copper so that it achieves the high temperatures necessary in jam-making.

The next most important component is the thermometer. It’s not absolutely essential but, if you’re not entirely confident with using the cold saucer method, a thermometer is the foolproof way of knowing that the magic 105ºC/220ºF temperature has been reached.

A jam funnel is very useful if you’ve got shaky hands like mine, however buying the other components are less necessary. I have a huge store of different sized & shaped jars – I never put the finished jars of honey, mayonnaise, pesto etc into the recycling. With a little pre-planning, you shouldn’t need to buy jars specially for preserving. Just make sure ones you’re reusing have no chips or cracks and have their original airtight lids.

Having said all that – yes, both #2 and #3 come with jars as part of their kits. The former has the edge over the latter as the single 1-litre jar is much less practical than 6 smaller ones. If you store a litre of jam, jelly, chutney etc in a single jar you’ll have to eat all the contents within a couple of weeks of opening or it will go off. Also, you should store your preserves in the fridge once they’ve been opened. I usually have too much other stuff in the fridge to accommodate a litre-sized pot of jam.

In the years I’ve been preserving, I’ve never used a jar lifter (I use a pair of kitchen tongs), a jar wrench (just twist a dinner knife between the space between the lid and the jar) or a magnetic stick (again, I use kitchen tongs). So that’s 3 of the 4 Kitchen Craft items that would be neglected at the back of the cupboard. You could buy each preserve making component you think you’ll need singly – but it’s often cheaper to buy them as a bundle.