Recipe: Fresh Dills
Pickle making is a lot easier — and faster — than you might think.
I’m a pickler. I ferment kosher dills in a crock with horseradish and grape leaves; I make a couple different types of bread-and-butter pickles – one jazzed up with jalapenos and peppercorns; I freestyle chow-chow with cabbage, sweet and fiery peppers and onions; I cure a zesty processed dill that wakes up creamy potato salad and last year, finally, I made a cucumber relish we loved. Weirdly at first it was way too salty. I guess it just needed some time.
Time is not necessary for these quick snappy slices. Dig into them as soon as they’re chilled, but they’re even better the next day and the next, if they last that long. They’re perfect with cold salmon, brisket or tucked into any type of sandwich.
The recipe is based on one from my friend, Bambi Levine. I messed with it just a little. She did her pickles with a long, seedless English or hothouse cucumber. You could also, but you’ll get brighter, crisper results with home-grown cukes from your garden, your CSA basket or the farmers’ market. I opted for pickling (Kirby-type) cucumbers, growing now in wild abundance in my garden, abetting my pickling habit.
Another good choice for this recipe is the cool, elongated, thin-skinned cucumber “Green Finger.” I’m growing it for the first time this year and I’m hooked. Or look for Asian or Armenian-type cucumbers, which tend to produce like crazy, growing long and curvy
Bambi didn’t use salt in her pickles, the brine is simple: vinegar, water and sugar. I added a bit of salt, but you could leave it out. I also upped the onion because I grow beautiful onions in my garden. Use a sweet onion, not a sharp yellow one. You could make these spicy with a dried chili or some crushed red pepper flakes. Or just leave well enough alone.
Fresh Dills
1 pound very fresh Kirby or other pickling cucumbers or thin-skinned seedless cucumbers, scrubbed and thinly sliced, ends discarded (about 3 ½ cups)
1 cup halved and thinly sliced sweet white onion
½ cup small dill sprigs
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt (optional)
1 cup cider vinegar
1 cup water
½ cup granulated sugar
2 clean pint (2-cup) jars with lids
1. In a medium bowl, toss together the cucumbers, onion and dill. Add the salt, if using, and toss again. Let stand about 10 minutes to dissolve the salt (the cucumbers will soften slightly). Then firmly but gently pack the cucumbers into the 2 jars, leaving behind any exuded liquid.
2. In a medium saucepan, stir together the vinegar, water and sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
3. If you have a canning funnel, set it in one of the jars and ladle in some hot brine, leaving about ¼ inch of headspace. Otherwise, carefully ladle hot brine into the jars. Repeat with the other jar; there may be some brine left over. Run a small rubber spatula or knife around the inside of each jar to remove any air bubbles. If needed, add a little more brine to cover the cukes. Seal with the lids.
4. Set the jars aside on a kitchen towel to cool. Then refrigerate.
5. Eat these when they’re chilled or wait until the next day.
Makes two pint jars of pickles.
