pickled cauliflower

Pickled cauliflower is one of my favourite pickles, so I just had to make it for Pickles & Preserves Week.

Whenever we buy giardiniera, Jonas and I sneak around fishing out all the cauliflower florets and hope the other one doesn’t notice.

When I went on my pickling bonanza I thought it was time to solve the problem, cut out all the other veggies and just gorge on pickled cauliflower.

This is a very aniseed flavoured recipe, due to the presence of fresh tarragon, and Steve Manfredi suggests dressing the drained cauliflower with olive oil, salt and pepper then tossing it with chopped chilli and parsley as part of an antipasto plate.

If you’re not keen on aniseed flavours, simply omit the tarragon.

Pickled Cauliflower
An adaptation of an adaptation from "Chez Panisse Vegetables" by Alice Waters.
Ingredients:
450g of cauliflower florets
2 cups (250ml) cider vinegar
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
4 fresh tarragon leaves
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 bay leaf
1 chilli
1 teaspoon of sea salt
Method:
1. Place cauliflower florets, garlic clove, bay leaf, tarragon and chilli in a sterile preserving jar.
2. Bring vinegar, sea salt, black peppercorns and mustard seeds to the boil and boil for a minute.
3. Pour boiling vinegar it over the cauliflower, which should then be covered with vinegar. If it isn't, simply boil more vinegar to top it up.
4. Secure the lid and invert the jar to create a vacuum seal.
5. Store the jar in a cool, dark place for a month before using.

Tags: morsels and musings food blog food and drink australia recipes appetizers snacks snack pickled cauliflower cauliflower pickles cauliflower recipes pickle recipes snack recipes