Zucchini Pickles

So good – eat them with everything

This is brilliant, I made a small batch the first time and it was so good that I made a lot more towards the end of the season. I freeze it in batches, flattened, in zip lock bags and it lasts for ages. Tastes great with ham and almost anything else. The spices are quite adaptable so they can easily be substituted, the type of curry powder used changes the taste so it is worth experimenting.

I found the original recipe on ABC Tasmania here: http://www.abc.net.au/tasmania/stories/s1388196.htm

Ingredients

Doubles easily

  • 6 zucchini or 1 really large zucchini (the size no-one wants – remove skin and seeds and chop into 2cm cubes)
  • 4 white onions – sliced finely (if using red onions the pickle will end up reddish so it looks more like chutney)
  • 1 capsicum chopped (optional)
  • 2 cups white, or white wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seed
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon celery seeds
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon curry powder
  • 1 kg sugar
  • 3 tablespoons cornflour or thicken to choice
  • extra salt to taste – do taste before adding

Method

  1. Mix chopped zucchini, with the sliced, chopped onions, together, sprinkle with a few teaspoons of sea salt and leave to stand in a stainless steel pot for 1 or 2 hours to begin the softening and remove some moisture.
  2. Pour off liquid, add vinegar, mustard seed, celery seed, turmeric, curry powder, bring mixture to boil (5 to 10 minutes) – remove from heat and gradually add sugar to melt, then heat and boil for another 10 minutes.
  3. Mix cornflour with a little water in a glass and stir to remove any lumps.
  4. Remove the mix from the heat and add mixed cornflour, stirring until thickened and not cloudy.
  5. Fill heated sterilised jars and cap immediately, or fill one jar for immediate use and when cooled put the rest into zip-lock bags, label and store in the freezer.

Warning: If you use red onions you get a more conventionally coloured chutney look – it is a brownish red colour, not so scary to those people who think that they don’t like pickles.

Note: to sterilise run jars and lids through a hot cycle in the dishwasher, and allow to dry.