Ever since we tried the recipe for these pickles, we've been making them in factory amounts. They’ve become a winter staple on our table—a perfect, crunchy replacement for fresh salad. Packed with vitamins and fiber, they are incredibly easy to make and keep well in the fridge, or on the balcony, if your fridge is full and the winter is as chilly as it’s been lately in Sofia!
For our latest batch of pickles we chose red cabbage, however we usually use white cabbage and you can use either, according to your preferences.
The veggies here are about 5 kg:
- 2 kg red cabbage
- 1.6 kg cauliflower
- 0.6 kg carrots
- 0.5 kg celery stalks
- 0.3 kg red peppers
Wash and cut all the vegetables into small pieces. The finer you slice the cabbage, the more delicate the texture, though it’s certainly not an exact science!
Our secret tip: We like to microwave the carrots and cauliflower for a few minutes first. We’ve found we prefer them slightly softer rather than raw. Since we make this at least twice a month, we've refined it to our liking. It might take you a few experiments, until you find your own "perfect" crunch.
After the veggies are sliced and mixed, we cook the brine. For this 5 kg mixture of veggies we put:
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 250 g apple cider vinegar (one cup)
- 150 g sunflower oil (2/3 cup)
- a few grains of black pepper and allspice
We bring the brine to boil, pour the hot brine over the veggies and mix thoroughly. Let the mixture sit at room temperature for a couple of hours to begin curing; then, move it to the cold to slow down the fermentation.
We use a
food-grade plastic container for the initial mixing, but we prefer transferring the pickles to glass jars for long-term storage. While they are ready to eat in just a few hours, the texture softens and the flavor only gets better with time. These should keep for months in the fridge—though in our house, a 5 kg batch barely lasts two weeks. Apparently, 5 kg of veggies isn't that much for a family of adults :)
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