One of the great things about belonging to a CSA is that you're forced to figure out ways to deal with bountiful produce. This Sunday, in a haphazard decision to cope with last week's FarmBoxLA haul, we decided to quickly blanch a bunch of bright green beans. But as soon as we dipped them into the ice bath, we thought, "There's got to be a more exciting way to treat these little guys than some S & P."
So we scoured the internet for a recipe for pickled green beans that required a quick blanch, and thankfully came up with something from Culinate. We tweaked the formula and added a few extra spices and different vinegar ratios because we're firm believers pickles should have some kick. (We also were running low on apple cider vinegar. A cook's gotta improvise.)
If you've got the canning gear, you can put these up for the winter season to come. But if you're anything like us, you'll have noshed on these little guys so much that they'll be gone within a day. Aside from being the perfect nibble to add to a pickle tray, they'd also be a nice addition to a seared tuna nicoise salad.
Here's how it's done:
Ingredients
¾ lb. green beans, tops removed
1¼ cups water
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup white vinegar
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 garlic cloves, lightly crushed
1½ tbsp whole dill seeds
1/2 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp dried red chili flakes
1 bay leaf
1½ tbsp salt
Method
In a large saucepan, in gently boiling water, blanch the green beans for 3 minutes, just until tender but still with a snap. Place the green beans in an ice water bath to stop them from cooking further. Transfer beans to a Mason jar.
In a medium saucepan, bring the water, vinegar, sugar, garlic, dill seeds, cumin, red chile flakes, and salt to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 minutes.
Pour the pickling liquid over the beans and cool, uncovered, in your Mason jar. After about an hour, they should be ready to be sealed up and hit the fridge.
Chill, covered, for at least 24 hours for the flavors to fully develop.
