Mixed Pickles

I have noticed mixed pickles on the net where the pickles have been arranged as a work of art and this year I came across a YouTube but in Russian.  I was able to get a chef in London translate the recipe for me. The wonders of Instagram!

Here is her translation for the Mixed Pickle recipe

Here you go!

the cauliflower, pattypan squash, courgettes and carrots she soaks in boiling water for 2-3 mins to soften them, as they are harder than the other veg, and need softening.

she soaks the garlic in hot water too, and onion, to make them lose some of their ‘spiciness'

The spices are, per 3 litre jar: 1 bayleaf, 2 cloves, two types of peppercorns (2 of the one that is more fragrant and 4 of the regular), pinch of mustard seeds

Herbs: currant leaf, horseradish leaf, dill stalks, 3 cherry leaves, coriander root, dill tops, horseradish root, fresh dill, lots of fresh parsley

she throws in one whole onion and 2 garlic cloves per 3 litre jar

Once all the veg is in, she first pours hot water into the jars, places the lid and covers them with towels, for 15-20 min (more is ok, but not less).

She pours out this ‘bouillon’ into a pot, puts it on the heat and adds salt and sugar. 

Per 3 litre jar: 100g sugar, 50g salt. 

Bring to a boil. 

While waiting for water to boil, she adds 90ml of vinegar into each jar. 

She doesn’t say how long she leaves them to pickle for but usually this is done in the summer, to be opened in winter. Keep in a dark cool place. 

With all the plenty of harvest, I wanted to make her recipe, even after visiting two farmer's markets, I still had to send out my husband for celery and parsley for this recipe.  It did take a while to prepare all the veggies as a variety of vegetables were used.  The Russian Pickle does use tools for fancy cuts which adds to the creativity of the display/ 

I also came across an Armenian Mixed pickle recipe which was in English.  In this recipe. the spices are a little different and she arranged her vegetables in her large container as to length of fermentation. The Cabbage and Cauliflower are place at the bottom as take the longest to ferment.  She uses a large container for ease of getting at the various vegetables to serve. 

The vegetables were similar but each did add a few different vegetables. The Armenian Mixed pickle had two beets added, one sliced for the bottom layer and another near the top. They were not cooked but only added for colour.  

The list of vegetables and order added for the Russian Pickle was;

Layer One

The follow dry spices were added to each jar

• 2 Bay leaves
• 2 whole Cloves
• 6 Peppercorns
• Mustard seeds

Base Layer

• 2 current leaves
• 1 small horseradish leave
• Dill weed
• 2 lime leaves
• Handful of Parsley
• Chunk of horseradish, about 1 inch piece

Press down on the base

Layers of Vegetables
Arrange in a decorative manner as you build the layers

• slice a medium half ripen Tomatoe
• Cucumber, large
• Hot pepper to taste
• Slices of bell peppers circles
• Onion chunks
• Carrots, julienne
• Squash, Zucchini
• small whole Cucumbers
• Cauliflower Florets
• Tomatoes small 
• Hot pepper to taste
• Cherry tomatoes, firm  
• Garlic

Since my jars were smaller, I did heat 3 litres of water and followed her recipe for the brine

Brine

3 litres water

1/2 c sugar

3 Tablespoon pickling salt
90 ml vinegar

I did not soak the vegetables before hand, nor did I pour hot water into the jars and drained them.  Not sure that you need to do either of these steps! 

The list of vegetables and order added for the Armenian Pickle was;

The spices used for the Armenian pickles were more in keeping with spices that I use for my pickles

After each layer the following dried spices were added generously.

• Bay leaves
• Peppercorns
• Dill Seeds
• Whole coriander
• Garlic, whole but scored at the top

List of vegetables

The layering of the vegetables was as to time of pickling, the vegetables that took longer to ferment where placed at the bottom.  

In her video, Quarters of cabbage were added first

2 Beets, uncooked for color

These were the vegetables I used

• Florets of Cauliflower
• Squash
• Carrots
• Celery, cut in chunks
• Cucumbers, leave whole
• Hot peppers
• Green Beans, whole
• Parsley

I used the same brine as I did for the Russian pickles

I did have some tomatoes that I used and herbs for the base. I used horseradish, raspberry leaf, grape leave and dill weed from my garden.  The rest was bought from the Farmer's Markets.

  

Growing tomatoes is a Challenge in this area due to cool evening. I have started growing tomatoes in pots as love that there are no bugs, no weeds and easier to maintain! But other challenges exist, especially if your dogs like vegetables and fruit!