Ratatouille Pickles Recipe

Alice's Cookbook | Lyons Press, 2011

This is so-called because it uses sunny ratatouille-like ingredients. It’s very little trouble to make, and you’ll be glad you did. Drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil, the pickled vegetables are wonderful eaten with good cheese or cured ham, a peppery salad, olives, and some good bread.
If you prefer, you can adjust this recipe to make a more traditional, Italian-style antipasto. Simply reduce the sugar to 1 tablespoon and drain the vegetables after simmering, then discard the vinegar mixture and instead submerge the vegetables in their jars in extra-virgin olive oil.–Alice Hart

LC Are They Pickled Yet, Papa Smurf? Note

Remember how every time the Smurfs undertook a journey, they would continually ask Papa Smurf if they were there yet? His response, initially anyways, no matter how far off the destination, was a patient, “Not yet!” or “We’re not far now!” Same applies to these pickles, which is to say, according to the Papa Smurf school of philosophy, that the outcome is always relative. Yes, you must wait for an indeterminate amount of time for the inimitable pickle flavor to reveal itself, whether a few days or a few weeks. But it’s not really that long a time, relatively speaking. Besides, since when have jars of pickles ever been this stunning? We could easily pass the entire time spent waiting just gazing at them…

Hands-On Time: 30 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes, not including pickling | Makes 4 largish jars

Want it? Click it.

Ingredients

4 cups wine vinegar, (red wine vinegar or white wine vinegar or a combination)
3 tablespoons kosher salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
3 cups cold water
2 red onions, cut into wedges (about six or so)
4 red, yellow or green bell peppers, thickly sliced and seeded
2 firm zucchini, unpeeled, thickly sliced crosswise into circles or lengthwise into thick spears
2 small firm eggplants, unpeeled, halved, and cut into thick sticks
8 garlic cloves, unpeeled, crushed lightly
4 rosemary or thyme sprigs or 5 bay leaves

Directions

1. Combine the vinegar, salt, sugar, peppercorns, coriander seeds, and water in a large nonreactive pot and slowly bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar and salt. When the mixture begins to simmer, add the vegetables, garlic, and herb sprigs or leaves. Continue to simmer for 5 minutes.
2. Remove from the heat and ladle the mixture into sterilized jars. Seal the jars according to manufacturer’s directions and turn the jars upside down to cool.
3. Keep the pickles in a cool, dark place for up to 6 weeks. Once opened, keep refrigerated and use within a month.

Hungry for more? Chow down on these:

Half Sour Dill Pickles from The Perfect Pantry
Pickled Pepper from David Lebovitz
Pickled Spring Vegetables With Mustard-Seed Vinaigrette from Leite's Culinaria
Salt and Sugar Pickles from Leite's Culinaria