Quick Pickle Cucumber
Ingredients
- 2 cups red wine vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 2 tbsp salt
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
- 1 tsp whole fennel seed
- ½ tbsp whole cardamom seeds
- 3 whole garlic cloves
- 2 english cucumber oblique cut
- 1 small red onion julienned
Instructions
- I almost always start with whole spices in a dry pan, which I toast in the pan until they are fragrant and the lighter spices are visibly golden.
- Then, add in the garlic clove and the onion, toast while tossing continuously for about a minute. You do not want the garlic or onion to sweat at all, just to become fragrant and mix with the toasted spices.
- Add sugar, salt, water, and vinegar. Bring to a boil. Allow it to boil for about a minute. Add cucumber, and then cut the heat and move to a neutral location. Cover.
- Allow it to rest until you are ready to serve. The longer the better, in this case. Drain before serving.
Notes
When making quick pickles I usually stick with a 9:3:1:½ ratio of vinegar, water, sugar, salt. I will adjust those measurements slightly depending on what kind of pickles I’m going for. Sometimes, like in this case, I want something more acidic (to balance the heavy starch involved with falafel and pita), and other times I am looking for more sweet (as in bread and butter pickles for a hamburger).