Pickled Shallots and Garlic

As I was pouring the pickling liquid over the spicy coriander and ginger pickles I posted a bit back, Zak came home from a walk with the dog and asked if I could add some shallots.  Because the volume had been measured already, I couldn’t.  What I could do, however, was pickle up some shallots and a head of garlic separately, using another batch of the same brine.  I mean, I already had the spices out, right?

I’m very glad I made this.  The garlic makes for an excellent snack.  The shallots, sliced or chopped up, work as a really nice topping on all sorts of sandwiches (one of which I’ll be posting shortly).  Similar to the pickled red onions and cucumbers I made previously from Michael Symon’s pickling recipe, these are being quickly devoured.

Pickled Shallots and Garlic

Adapted from Live to Cook by Michael Symon

1 cup shallots, peeled

1 head garlic, peeled

Vinegar – half apple cider vinegar, half rice wine vinegar

Sugar

Kosher salt

2 tbs. coriander seeds

1 tbs. mustard seeds

1 tbs. crushed red pepper flakes

1 tbs. black peppercorns

2-3 bay leaves

Pack the shallots and garlic in a 1-quart jar and cover with water to come within 1/2″ of the rim.  Pour the water out into a measuring cup.  Note the volume, then pour off half of the water.  Replace it with half apple cider vinegar and half rice wine vinegar.

Pour the vinegar mixture into a nonreactive saucepan.  Add 2 tbs. sugar and 2 tbs. salt for every 3 cups of liquid.  Add the mustard seeds, red pepper flakes, coriander seeds, black peppercorns, garlic, and bay leaves.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Allow the liquid to boil for 2 minutes, then remove from heat. Pour the hot liquid into the jar over the onions.  Stir to evenly distribute the spices.

Screw on the lids and shake a few times.  Let cool to room temperature.  Transfer to refrigerator.  Refrigerate for up to 1 month.

Spicy Coriander and Ginger Pickles

I loved the pickled red onions I made by adapting Michael Symon’s recipe so much that when I saw some pickling cucumbers for sale at our usual grocery store, I knew I had to buy them and see if it worked on them as well.  I decided to make an additional change to the original recipe by adding some roughly chopped fresh ginger, which I though would work well with the flavor of the coriander.  I also played around a little with the spice amounts a bit.

This recipe worked really, really well.  The flavors were addictive and interesting – a nice hint of sweetness at the beginning of each bite, transitioning into a punch of salt, the aromatic coriander and mustard, and the spice of the ginger and crushed red pepper flakes that lingers on your palate.  The texture of the pickle is crunchy and crisp.  These would be delicious alongside any sandwich but are also pretty darn good on their own.

Spicy Coriander and Ginger Pickles

Adapted from Live to Cook by Michael Symon

1/2 dozen pickling cucumbers, halved

Vinegar – half apple cider vinegar, half rice wine vinegar

Sugar

Kosher salt

2 tbs. coriander seeds

1 tbs. mustard seeds

1 tbs. crushed red pepper flakes

1 tbs. black peppercorns

4 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled

2″ of garlic, peeled, roughly chopped

2-3 bay leaves

Pack the cucumber slices in a 1-quart jar and cover with water to come within 1/2″ of the rim.  Pour the water out into a measuring cup.  Note the volume, then pour off half of the water.  Replace it with half apple cider vinegar and half rice wine vinegar.

Pour the vinegar mixture into a nonreactive saucepan.  Add 2 tbs. sugar and 2 tbs. salt for every 3 cups of liquid.  Add the mustard seeds, red pepper flakes, coriander seeds, black peppercorns, garlic, and bay leaves.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Allow the liquid to boil for 2 minutes, then remove from heat. Pour the hot liquid into the jar over the onions.  Stir to evenly distribute the spices.

Screw on the lids and shake a few times.  Let cool to room temperature.  Transfer to refrigerator.  Refrigerate for up to 1 month.

Grilled Shrimp Tacos with Pickled Red Onions

Now that the weather has warmed up, I need to try and think of recipes that don’t use the oven.  Preferably, some of them will involve the grill.  These were absolutely perfect for the increasingly hot weather – light, refreshing, and bursting with flavor.

The flavors in these tacos were extremely fresh and bright.  The cilantro and lime marinated shrimp picked up the smokiness of the grill and retained their natural sweetness.  The onions packed a punch of spices and a delicious tartness from the vinegar.  The vivid green of the marinade contrasted nicely with the pinkish hue of the onions.  Both pretty and flavorful, these were an extremely easy, refreshing, and flavorful taco.

Grilled Shrimp Tacos with Pickled Red Onions

Michael Symon’s Pickled Red Onions:

Adapted from Live to Cook by Michael Symon (I <3 my signed copy!)

1 large red onion, sliced 1/4″ thick (about enough to fill a 1-quart jar semi-snugly)

Vinegar – half apple cider vinegar, half rice wine vinegar

Sugar

Kosher salt

2 tsp. mustard seeds

1 tbs. crushed red pepper flakes

2 tbs. coriander seeds

2 tbs. black peppercorns

4 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled

2-3 bay leaves

Pack the onion slices in a 1-quart jar and cover with water to come within 1/2″ of the rim.  Pour the water out into a measuring cup.  Note the volume, then pour off half of the water.  Replace it with half apple cider vinegar and half rice wine vinegar.  For example, the total volume of water was 2 1/2 cups.  So I used 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar and 3/4 cup rice wine vinegar.

Pour the vinegar mixture into a nonreactive saucepan.  Add 2 tbs. sugar and 2 tbs. salt for every 3 cups of liquid.  Add the mustard seeds, red pepper flakes, coriander seeds, black peppercorns, garlic, and bay leaves.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Allow the liquid to boil for 2 minutes, then remove from heat. Pour the hot liquid into the jar over the onions.  Stir to evenly distribute the spices.

Screw on the lids and shake a few times.  Let cool to room temperature.  Transfer to refrigerator.  Refrigerate for up to 1 month.

Cilantro-Lime Grilled Shrimp:

1 lb. shell-on jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 cups loosely packed cilantro

4 cloves garlic, peeled

1 lime, juiced

1/2 jalapeño, seeds and ribs removed

1/3 cup olive oil

Add cilantro, garlic, lime juice, and jalapeño to a food processor.  Pulse a few times to chop the cilantro and garlic.  With the machine running, slowly add the olive oil.  Add the shrimp and the cilantro mixture to a ziplock bag and marinate for thirty minutes.

Meanwhile, heat up your grill.

Thread shrimp onto skewers, making sure they have some space between them.  Brush with leftover marinade.  Add the skewers to the grill.  Depending on the heat of your grill, cook about 4-5 minutes per side, brushing with any leftover marinade as they cook, until pink and no longer translucent.

Assembly:

Pickled red onions, see above

Cilantro-lime grilled shrimp, see above

Soft tortilla shells, heated thirty seconds per side on the grill

Add 4-5 shrimp to each tortilla.  Top with some onions.  Fold into taco shape and devour.

Sweet Pickled Daikon Radish

These daikon radish pickles are pretty, delicious, and different.  I had an absolutely ginormous daikon radish from the CSA, as you may remember, and needed to use it up ASAP a couple of weeks ago.  As I stated, I had been planning on bringing a relish tray along to Thanksgiving, so I thought pickling the radish would be a wise move.  I chose this recipe because I guessed – correctly, which is more than I can say for the last constitutional law quiz I took – that the turmeric would impart a lovely yellow color to the radishes that would look pretty next to some pickled beets and dill pickles.  They also tasted lovely, with a hint of sweetness and a really interesting umami from the sesame oil.

Sweet Pickled Daikon Radish

Adapted from Tyler Florence

1 cup rice vinegar

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. sesame oil

1/4 tsp. tumeric

About 1 lb. daikon radish, sliced into 1/4″ thick rounds (or half moons if your radish was huge like mine)

1/4 cup kosher salt

In a small saucepan, heat vinegar, water, sugar, sesame oil, and tumeric over medium-high heat to a boil.  Whisk to make sure all sugar is combined.  Let cool.

Meanwhile, toss radish slices and kosher salt together and let drain in a colander for about an hour.  Rinse the daikon.

Place daikon in a canning jar and pour cooled sugar and water mixture over.  Seal tightly.  Refrigerate at least over night before serving.

Pickled Beets

While pickled beets may not be for everyone, if they are something that you think – even oh-so-slightly – you might be interested in, you should try this recipe.  Especially if you have an abundance of beets from your CSA and an itch to use up some pickles in your fridge by making a relish tray (it’s the holidays, after all!).  These beet pickles are incredibly easy to make.  Just roast some beets, slice them up, boil some stuff, and put it all in a canning jar.  Leave it there for a week or so and you will have really earthy and delicious pickled beets with a kick of vinegar.  As a bonus, the onions are also a really delicious treat and are a beautiful burgundy after a few days in the jar with the beets.

Pickled Beets

Adapted from Alton Brown

3 roasted beets, peeled and sliced 1/4″ thick

1 medium yellow onion, sliced 1/4″ thick

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup beet juice (from boiling beets or defrosting in water), or water

Arrange beets and onions in layers in a canning jar.

Meanwhile, bring remaining ingredients to a boil in a small saucepan.  Whisk to make sure sugar is thoroughly dissolved.

Pour over beets and tightly close lid.

Let refrigerate 3-7 days before serving.