Holding on to Summer: Easy Pickled Radishes and Pickled Green Beans

I refuse to believe that summer just passed me by this year.  In the blink of an eye, I missed those bright sunny days, sandy trips to the beach, and backyard barbecues.  I could tell you that I don't know how it happened, but really it was just my all-consuming dissertation; I dug in to get the job done, and when you are glued to your computer and working night and day, you barely notice the happenings in the outside world.   

Looking back, it seems a small sacrifice to completely give up one summer of my life in order to close the door on my PhD.  But that is my rational mind speaking - my heart is trying to do the impossible by tugging me back to mid-summer.  It aches for long days without a care, backyard grilling with friends, and plump heirloom tomatoes.  These days, my poor little heart seems surprised to notice that the air is cooler and the days are shorter.  The summer vegetables are beginning to be in scarce supply at the farmers markets as everyone snatches up the last summer corn or brightly colored zucchini.  And since my heart is stubbornly refusing to acknowledge the arrival of fall, I think I can indulge it for just a few more weeks and try to hang on to the last remnants of summer as best as I can. 

So I have been eating ungodly amounts of sweet tomatoes; I grilled corn when I went camping with my sister; and I baked sugary treats with the remaining summer berries.  None of those meals or desserts ended up here on The Cilantropist, because I needed some time to myself to get back in touch with my kitchen, and just cook.  It is so therapeutic and relaxing for me.  But then I decided it was time to grab some of these bright summer veggies and pickle them, and I knew I had to share these with you.    

I made tons of pickles last summer, and used the same great recipes this time around; but then I also decided to experiment with other pickled vegetables like baby corn, green and yellow beans, and radishes.  For pickling some of these veggies, you can either quickly blanch/boil them first to make them more tender, or you can just throw them together with vinegar and spices and let them cure in the refrigerator over a few days.  I chose the latter method. 

For my spices, I used a simple mixture of mustard seeds, black peppercorns, and dill seeds, and then of course I could not resist tossing in a bunch of garlic cloves, and then finally topping it off with a nice spoonful of salt.  I changed the spice ratios slightly for the beans versus the radishes, by deciding to omit the dill seeds and add a pinch of sugar to the latter.  

Since there is no cooking involved in this recipe, all you need to do is add the spices and trimmed vegetables to a jar, and top with vinegar and water.  Then, just close the jar tightly and give it a good shake.  This is merely to dissolve the salt and any sugar, but you can feel free to shake them to your hearts content.  

Then, all that is left to do is stick them in your fridge and just wait.  

I am not a very patient person, so I started checking my veggies less than 24 hours later. The beans were definitely not ready but the radishes were almost there.  After two full days, the radishes were perfect - crunchy and sour with a sharp but sweet taste that immediately took me back to my childhood days.  Growing up, my grandmother used to make a simple radish salad; to my little eyes, I only saw paper thin radish slices, and nothing else in there, and I remember being so curious about what magical technique she used to make those radishes taste so good.  The minute I bit into one of these pickled radishes, I knew.    

Both the pickled beans and the pickled radishes were excellent, but my favorite was definitely the radishes.  Those disappeared within a day of being fully pickled, while I have lingered over the pickled green beans, snacking on them whenever I am craving something crunchy and bright.  In my opinion, these are the perfect snack foods.  But, these recipes also let me hold onto the last days of summer, and for that, more than my tastebuds are grateful.  

You might also like: It's a Pickle Party!

One year ago: Pickled Watermelon Rind (Can you tell I love pickling?)

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Simple Pickled Radishes and Pickled Green Beans


Pickled Radishes:
1 bunch red radishes, or enough to fill a medium mason jar
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 tbsp mustard seeds
1/2-1 tbsp kosher salt
About 2 tsp granulated sugar
6 garlic cloves (or more)

About 1 cup white vinegar

Water

Wash the radishes well, then trim off the bottom root and the top leaves.  Quarter the radishes (though this recipe also works, and works faster, if you thinly slice the radishes) and place them in a medium mason jar or regular jar.  Add the spices, salt, sugar, and garlic cloves.  Fill the jar a little bit more than halfway with the vinegar, and then top off the rest with water.  Close the jar tightly and shake well to dissolve the sugar and salt.  Place the jar in the refrigerator, and the pickled radishes will be ready to eat after two days, but should keep for more than a week.  

Pickled Green Beans:

About 1 lb green beans, or enough to fill a medium mason jar

2 tbsp dill seeds

1 tbsp black peppercorns

1 tbsp mustard seeds

1/2-1 tbsp kosher salt

6 garlic cloves (or more) 

About 1 cup white vinegar

Water

Wash the green beans well, then trim off the bottom and the top, or one or the other, or neither.  You just want to make sure they can fit, standing up, in your mason jar.  (Though, it seems if one or both sides of the beans is cut, the pickling liquid works faster.)   Add the spices, salt, and garlic cloves.  Fill the jar a little bit more than halfway with the vinegar, and then top off the rest with water.  Close the jar tightly and shake well to dissolve the sugar and salt.  Place the jar in the refrigerator, and the pickled green beans will be ready to eat after about five days, but should keep for more than two weeks. 

A note: The green beans will be pretty crunchy with this recipe, which I like.  If you want your beans to be a little more tender, you can just briefly blanch them for a few minutes (no more or they will become too soft!) before putting them in the mason jar with the pickling liquid.  With this method, they will be ready to eat a few days earlier.