'specially for Joanna. My zucchini pickle recipe comes from a wonderful New Zealand recipe book called The Cook's Garden: For cooks who garden and gardeners who cook, by Mary Browne, Helen Leach and Nancy Tichborne (three sisters) and first published in 1980. My aunt first introduced me to this book and I bought my own copy as a student in 1991. I had started a small vegetable garden at the back of our student flat and used this book for both gardening tips and recipes.
When our flat was arsoned in 1993 (burglars who got careless we think), my bedroom was gutted but as my recipe books were in the kitchen, they survived. My Cook's Garden is still smoke stained. I went on to purchase the sequel and also their bread book, though I've not been making bread for a long while.
Now I go back to this book for things like pickles and chutneys but also because there are lots of great vege-based casserole recipes which fitted the bill well for cheap student living and now for wholesome budget family cooking.
On the garden side of the book, I notice how times have changed as I read enthusiastic tributes to modern hybrid seeds. Given their commitment to good taste (as in yummy, not 'discerning'), I suspect if they were writing now, they'd be talking (re)discovering heirloom varieties.
Zucchini Pickle
1 kg zucchini
4 large onions
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1/2 cup salt
2 cup sugar
2.5 cups white vinegar
1 cup water
2 teaspoons turmeric
2 teaspoons celery seed
Chop unpeeled zucchini finely. Peel and chop the onions. Remove the seeds from the peppers and chop the flesh. Combine the vegetables in a large bowl. Sprinkle the salt over the surface and cover with water. Leave for 2 hours (I tend to leave overnight). Drain. Rinse thoroughly with cold water and drain again.
In a preserving pan boil the sugar, vinegar, water, turmeric and celery seed for 3 minutes. Add the vegetables and cook for 15 minutes. Spoon into hot dry jars and seal.
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9 comments:
It really doens't matter, but I thought you might like toknow I have that book too! Picked up at a secondhand something somewhere sometime.
What do you think of it?
Thank you Sandra! And my instinct was right, because it's a great recipe, very useful come the summer when there are so many courgettes to keep up with .. and I loved your story about the book, though sad to hear your arson story, how horrible, you could go on missing inconsequential things for years.
Joanna
what do I think of it? I bought it before my gardening days when I had an inkling that one day I would....haven't looked at it since!
hi sandra,
i was cruising the net looking for interesting zucchini recipes (i, like every other gardener in our area, have tons), when i found your site and your blog.
unfortunately, i havent been able to do any work because i've been reading like crazy. you've now been added to my favorite list!
tina
wavyo.com blogger
Great book - lent it to my daughter, but now need it back again.
Pays to read recipe properly, ommitted to put water over the veges with the salt, so I now have some very pretty, pretty salty pickle.
What can I do with it, other than dump it?
Any thoughts?
hi, i had same problem as other user - very very salty pickle. i rinsed and rinsed but it was inedible. also needed more time to cook as it ended up as veges in a thin rather than thick sauce... oh well, all good learning for this entry level pickler!
hi do you think I could use marrow instead? my zucchini are a little on the big side now and hubby is over having them for dinner so need to use in preserves somehow. cheers
Still using this recipe. These are great to throw beside barbecue food, or winter sausages, or with tasty cheese.
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