This is a fabulous pickle recipe, which originally came from Guy Watson at Riverford. I have tweaked it a little to suit my taste. In all honesty I can eat this pickle with almost anything. It is particularly good with warm crusty homemade bread and crumbly cheddar cheese. Or on the side of a good Welsh Rarebit. I fand a lot of shop bought pickles to be too strong and “vinegary” this pickle however has a sweet flavour, the cucumber is be rely cooked and so stays nice and crunchy. I make about 12 big jars of this every year. It is very easy to make, but does take a good bit of time! Enjoy…
Cucumber pickle
A light refreshing sweet pickle that brings the flavour of summer to winter meals.
Ingredients:
- Cucumber - 1.5kg
- Onions (white) - 1 kg
- Sea salt - 80g
- Cider Vinegar - 500ml
- Granulated sugar - 350g
- Mustard seeds - 5tsps
- Whole cloves - 1tsp
- Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Instructions:
You will need a mandolin (or a lot of patience) to slice the onions and cucumbers very thinly.
Slice the cucumbers as thinly as the mandolin allows (watching your fingers)
Cut the onions in half and then slice these as thinly as the mandolin allows (watching your fingers)
Now mix the onions and the cucumber together with the salt in a large bowl. Then wait while the salt does its job and draws the moisture out of the cucumber and onion.
I tend to leave this overnight to work.
The following morning I drain off the liquid, and fill the sink with water and give the cucumber and onion mix a really good wash to get rid of the salt.
In a large pan heat the vinegar, the sugar and the spices gently until the sugar has melted into the vinegar.
Then add (being careful not to splash the turmeric coloured liquid) the cucumber and onion and bring back to the boil for moments, certainly no more than a minute or so.
It is now ready to be spooned into sterilised pickle jars making sure you fill them to the brim with the pickling vinegar.
I tend to find it is good enough to eat in a month, but like to keep it for longer to let it mature.
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