Pickles: The Return of the Real Dill
Pickling, to paraphrase Marion Cunningham in The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, used to be a necessity, not a luxury. But this thrifty and ancient technique--the art of preserving vegetables, fruit, or other foods in vinegar and salt bath--had gone the way of Chicken Cordon Bleu.
Now homemade pickling is making a comeback, and it's chefs (not your grandma) who are today's best pickling practitioners. Whether it's thanks to a boom in farmers' markets, an appreciation for "slow foods" or simply not wanting to waste food, homemade pickling is a welcome return--your average store-bought pickles pale in comparison to the crunchy, bright qualities of the real dill.
Recipe: Slighly Sweet Dill Refrigerator Pickles. Substituting rice vinegar (instead of cider or wine vinegar) produces a pickle that's less tart.
Kimchi from Korea, umeboshi (pickled plum) from Japan, giardiniera from Italy, pickled watermelon rind from the American South--chefs relish the world's pickles. "Pickles add a spicy or sweet-and-sour note to smoked fish, roasted meats, and other foods with a lot of fat," says chef Daniel Orr of FARMbloomington in Bloomington, Indiana. Orr employs a quick pickle on everything from ramps to fiddlehead ferns, quail eggs to okra, which he uses in the restaurant's version of the bloody Mary, the tequila-based Prairie Mary. "They cleanse the palate, and you don't get that with fresh vegetables," says Orr.
A few of my favorite pickle dishes around the country:
FARMbloomington/Bloomington, Indiana: Tequila Bloody Mary with pickled okra
Boat Street Cafe/Seattle: Pickle plate with Padron pepper, chanterelle, Sungold cherry tomato, and breakfast radish
Five and Ten/Athens, Georgia: Pickled okra, peach, and green tomato
Source/ Washington, D.C.: Warm Maine lobster and pickled daikon roll
Myers + Chang/Boston: Asian pickle plate with kimchi, watermelon radish, and carrot
Brasa/Minneapolis: Pork sandwich with carrot and onion pickles
And a few of my favorite artisanal pickle makers:
Rick's Picks
McClure's Pickles
Farmer's Daughter
Boat Street Pickles
And one of my favorite pickle recipes (from Daniel Orr of FARMbloomington):
Pickled Spring Onions with Balsamic and Red Wine
(Makes approximately 60 onions)
60 red or white spring onions (larger than scallions)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
3 cups red wine
5 clove garlic- lightly crushed
1 tablespoon peppercorns
1 tablespoon salt
1 bay leaf
2 fresh thyme sprigs
Clean the onions by removing root ends and outer skin. Wash in plenty of room temperature water. Set aside.
Caramelize the sugar to a fairly dark caramel. Break the caramel with the vinegar and wine and stir to dissolve.
Add the garlic, herbs, salt and spices and simmer about 10 minutes. Add the onions and cook and additional 8-10 minutes or until al dente. Cool to room temperature and store refrigerated.
An interesting pickle recipe to try: Jerusalem Artichoke Pickles.
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