Not normally an avid canner, the Accidental Locavore on occasion will make pickles. On a typical grey fall day recently, I decided to try a couple of different techniques with some of the “extra” veggies I had from Stokes Farm. First up: a beautiful head of cauliflower that had so many greens, I couldn’t possibly toss them. At a class at De Gustibus with Shea Gallante, he suggested pickling them, like a sauerkraut or kimchee–great idea! I found a recipe online for pickled mustard greens which I tweaked. This will fill a 1 quart jar.
[gmc_recipe 2572]
My verdict: These need at least a week in the fridge for the flavor to develop. They’re an interesting combination of pickles and sauerkraut. Next time, I’ll cut the greens into much thinner strips, about 1/2″ would be better. It was a really good use for the cauliflower greens of which I had enough to make 3 jars of pickles! I’ll use them on hotdogs, maybe burgers or as a side dish with pork chops. I’m sure you could use any sort of sturdy greens for this and they’d be good. Cider vinegar would also work in place of the white vinegar and would give it a sweeter taste.
My grandmother used to say, “don’t toss anything green you can pickle, because what might seem unappealing right now might taste pretty good next winter.”