Bluestem must confess that we were swept away by the flood of vegetables coming out of our garden, spending the day canning with a friend possessed of a better stove, vital to pickling and preserving.
Carrots this year are particularly beautiful, thick and sweet. It's a chance to make a batch or two of our favorite pickle: Mexican-Style Pickled Carrots. As wrote at the Tasting Table:
[These] simple, spicy carrots were inspired by the many taco stands scattered across Los Angeles, where West lives. He uses the tangy, crunchy carrots as a complement for tacos, and also as an ingenious substitute for bacon in a club sandwich.
They're wonderful. Here's the recipe for four pints:
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
2 cups white wine vinegar
2 cups water
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano (or dried oregano)
½ teaspoon black peppercorns, lightly crushed
1 small red onion, peeled and cut into ⅛-inch slices
2 to 4 jalapeño chiles, quartered (seeded for less heat)
2¾ pounds carrots, peeled and cut on a bias ½ inch thick
8 garlic cloves, peeled
4 small dried red chiles (optional)
4 small dried red chiles (optional)
1. Place 4 pint jars in a water bath canner and place their lids and rings in a small saucepan of w
1. Place 4 pint jars in a water bath canner, cover with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, cover rings and lids for the jars in a separate saucepan and simmer. Turn off the heat. Use canning tongs to remove the pint jars from the hot water. Turn the jars upside down onto a kitchen towel to drain.
2. While the jars sterilize, start the pickle: In a small skillet set over medium-high heat, add the cumin seeds and toast, stirring often, until the seeds are golden and fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a small plate to cool.
3. To a medium saucepan, add the vinegar, water, 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of the salt, the oregano and crushed peppercorns and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the onion and jalapeños and turn off the heat.
4. Bring a large saucepan of water and the remaining 1 tablespoon of salt to a boil. Add the carrots and simmer until al dente, about 3 minutes. Drain the carrots in a colander and immediately transfer them to the saucepan with the vinegar and onions. Bring the ingredients to a boil, then turn off the heat.
5. Divide the toasted cumin seeds, garlic cloves and red chiles (if using) among the 4 jars. Using a slotted spoon, divide the carrots and onions among the jars. Top with the hot vinegar, leaving ½ inch of headspace at the top of the jar. Cover each jar with a lid and tighten the ring finger-tight..
6. Hot-water-process the pickles: Transfer the jars back to the canner, making sure the lids are tightly secured and that the jars are covered by at least a few inches of water, and boil for 10 minutes. Use tongs to transfer the jars to a kitchen-towel-lined surface and cool completely at room temperature. Store in a cool, dry, dark space.
These are delicious, great in tacos, sandwiches and as a party pickle. Bluestem will be back tomorrow with some political news, once we freeze beans and squash, can some sweet and spicy Japanese cucumber pickles and harvest the onions, more carrots and the hills of potatoes where the vines have withered and the spuds beg to be uncovered.
It's that time of year in rural Minnesota.
Photo: Taqueria-style pickled carrots.
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