How to make quick winter radish and carrot pickle

(Photography by Julia Platt Leonard) (Photography by Julia Platt Leonard)

Think pickles and picture a glut of summer veg waiting to be transformed into something to savour in the middle of winter. It’s cooking with an eye to the future.

But a quick pickle is an anytime solution when you’re craving something crisp, tart, and crunchy.

You’re spoiled for choice on what you pickle and your pickling liquid. You need an acid such as cider, white wine or rice wine vinegar.

Choose your vegetables – sliced carrots and whole breakfast radishes (they’ll tint your pickles a lovely blush pink), or cucumber spears or even wedges of baby turnip.

Toss in spices such as yellow mustard seed and bay or go for fennel, caraway or celery seed instead.

Basic rule of thumb for this recipe is roughly equal parts liquid to vegetable.

I used two carrots, a small bunch of breakfast radishes and two larger radishes, totalling around 500 grams, but change the mix as you like.

Radish and carrot pickles

1 bunch breakfast radishes
2 medium size carrots
2 large white radishes
450ml rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp mirin
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 Tbsp yellow mustard seeds
1 clove garlic, peeled and halved
1 bay leaf
1 tsp sea salt
3-4 sprigs dill

Place the vinegar, mirin, sugar, mustard seeds, garlic clove, bay leaf and sea salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 1-2 minutes, remove from the heat, and allow to cool slightly, — about 5-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel the carrots and cut into chunks. Small breakfast radishes can be cleaned and kept whole while larger radishes should be cleaned and cut into wedges.

Aim for the vegetables to be roughly the same size. Place them in a clean jar with the dill sprigs. Top with the liquid, seal and place in the refrigerator.

The liquid should just cover the vegetables. Best eaten the next day or two after making.

@juliapleonard