Vegetables pickled in brine

Traditional Romanian recipes for pickling green tomatoes, cucumbers and bell peppers.

Ștefan Baciu, 27.10.2019, 13:00

Although shops now sell a wide array
of pickled vegetables, either using vinegar or salty water brine for those who
don’t have time to make them at home or don’t know how, there are still people
who prefer to make their own pickled vegetables in the traditional way. The
most popular vegetables to pickle in Romania are green tomatoes, cucumbers,
cauliflower, red pepper, carrots and celeriac, and sometimes even apples and
small watermelons. Traditionally, these pickles were used instead of fresh
vegetables in winter.

Let’s start with the recipe for
green tomato pickle. It is recommended to pick whitish rather than dark green
tomatoes, because the latter may have a more bitter taste. After buying them
from the market or harvesting them from your own garden, it’s best to leave
them at room temperature for a day or two so they acquire a yellowing-reddish
hue. Along with green tomatoes, you can add some sliced carrots, celeriac, red
peppers and apples as well as small green watermelons. Put these vegetables in
a jar or wood barrel and add some horseradish, shredded, and a few garlic
cloves, slightly crushed. After filling the jar with the vegetables, pour in the
hot brine. You need one and a half spoonfuls of salt for every litre of water
used to make the brine. After a few days, strain the brine to prevent a white
layer forming on top of the jar which is a kind of yeast.

To make pickled cucumbers, you need
salt, mustard seeds, horseradish, garlic and a few dried dill sprigs. It’s best
to use smaller cucumbers, which you first need to wash in cold water. Peel the
horseradish and cut it in long, thin strips and slightly crush the garlic
cloves without peeling them. Put the cucumbers in a jar or wooden barrel,
mixing in the horseradish and garlic. Add the mustard seeds and place the dill
sprigs on top. Pour the brine while it’s hot, then seal the jar and leave it in
a warm place for 2 or 3 days, then move it to a cooler place. Given that there
are no big differences in terms of how they are prepared, the green tomatoes
and the cucumbers may be placed together with other vegetables in the same jar.

Bell peppers can also be pickled
using salty water brine. First carefully remove their stems and seeds and then
add some salt inside. Depending on how big they are, you either put them one
inside the other or fill them with shredded white or red cabbage, put them in
jars and pour in hot brine. Again you’ll need one and a half spoonfuls of salt
for every litre of water. Enjoy