Unlike 2022, 2023 was not a fantastic year for cucumbers, there were as many as we needed (around 10 over the summer months) but not enough to make pickle.
However, the courgettes have done well, particularly the “Tromba d’Albenga”. These are a climbing variety which grow fruit up to about one metre in length. The thing I’ve discovered is that its important to keep picking them otherwise they seem to discourage themselves from setting new fruit. Another advantage is that, unlike normal courgettes which have seeds all along the length, the seeds are concentrated in a bulge at the end meaning that you’ve got a long length of solid flesh.
Anyway, enough about them. We eat a lot of courgettes, roasted, added to stews, etc.. However, pickling them is something we’ve tried for the first time this year, following on from the success with the cucumber pickle last year.
Ingredients
The ingredients are simple (and flexible). You need to make a lightweight pickling liquid.
- ~500g Courgettes
- 1 onion
- 2 tbsb salt
- 300-500ml White wine or Cider Vinegar (or a mix of both)
- 100 – 120g sugar
- 1 tsp English Mustard Powder
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp turmeric
- pinch of chilli seeds or 1/4 tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
Method
Finely slice the courgette & onion (we used a mandolin), put in a bowl & sprinkle on the salt. Leave for around an hour, stirring occasionally. Then drain, rinse and dry on a clean tea towel.
Make the pickling liquor by putting all the ingredients in a pan and warm up to dissolve the sugar. Boil it for a few minutes and leave it to cool down a bit.
Add the courgettes & onions when its still warm (but not hot enough to cook the courgettes).
Leave it to stand for a couple of minutes then put the courgettes & onions into sterilised jars. Seal and, when cool put in the fridge for a couple of days. It should keep for a few months in the fridge but, because the pickling liquor is only light, it must be kept in the fridge.
And there you are. Its a pickle, not a chutney so use it in the same way as you would pickled onions or the like.