This time of year is wild in the vegetable garden. I went down yesterday to pick a few green beans to make a salade nicoise it sounds fancy but really not and got stuck there for an hour picking beans and peas! I’m not a big fan of frozen vegetables so what doesn’t get eaten immediately goes into the test kitchen for pickling. I don’t have a test kitchen, I just test things in my kitchen.
During the winter when we’re entertaining, I often serve a meat and cheese board embellished with marinated vegetables as part of a formal antipasta. Commercially marinated vegetables often taste, as my daughter Meg said when she was little, “like soap”.
It’s super easy and fun to play around with different combinations of spices, herbs and vinegars to create your own antipasta della casa. It takes a bit of trial and error before you land on the perfect salt content for you. I like my pickles salty so keep that in mind if you try this recipe. Remember, you need to have enough salt to preserve the vegetable without pickling your tongue!
Green Bean Antipasta della Casa
This recipe makes enough brine for one – 1 litre bottle. Increase as needed.
1 ¼ cup white wine vinegar
1 ¼ cup water
1 ½ tablespoons sea salt
1 clove of garlic
1 branch of lemon thyme
1 dried hot pepper
Pack the jar with fresh green string beans, making sure to leave a ½ inch head space at the top of the jar. [Trim beans, if necessary]
Add garlic, thyme and pepper.
Combine vinegar, water and salt in a medium pot over high heat and bring to a boil.
Boil for 2 minutes.
Pour hot brine into packed bottles.
Seal with prepared lids.
Follow manufacturer’s instructions for preparing the lids.
Store beans for 2 weeks in refrigerator before using.
THE LOVE: In order to pack the jar properly, I didn’t sterilize it first. It makes it too hard to handle. That’s why I store the beans in the fridge. Be sure to wash the jars thoroughly though before you pack them!
Thanks for reading.
