Pickled Green Beans With Ginger and Lemongrass

Category: Cocktails & Appetizers | Blog URL: http://cookinglounge.blogspot.com/2009/12/pickled-green-beans-with-ginger-and.html

This recipe was entered in The Foodista Best of Food Blogs Cookbook contest, a compilation of the world’s best food blogs which was published in Fall 2010.

Photo: Cooking Lounge Food * Lifestyle * Music

Ingredients

3/4 pound Green Beans (trimmed, 5-6 inches long)

1/2 pound Long Beans (trimmed and cut into 6in pieces

1 inch stalk of Lemongrass (trimmed, peeled and cut into 2 pieces)

1 1/2 inches piece of fresh ginger (peeled, sliced and cut into strips)

16 ounces of White vinegar

1 cup of water

4 Garlic cloves (chopped)

4 or so Cilantro sprigs

2 tablespoons Sea Salt

1 tablespoon Coarse Black Pepper

4 Dried Red Chile Peppers (broken up)

1 tablespoon Sugar

1 quart Ball mason jar, wide-mouth

Preparation

In a 5 qt pot ( I used an enameled pot), add vinegar all the ingredients except the long beans and green beans and cilantro.

Bring to simmer. Add the long beans and green beans. Cover for 3-5 minutes. Want them blanched. Remove from heat. Drop in cilantro. Be careful from here on. Using tongs, pack the beans into the Ball mason jar lengthwise. Leave some room for the liquid. Pour all the spices and good stuff in the jar first then top with brine. Screw on the lid; cool to room temperature. Let them hang out for a day or two in the refrigerator to absorb the flavors. Enjoy!

Please note: Sterilize the Ball jar before using.

Tools

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About

Fall had settled in and the lingering bounty of Summer was being harvested and preserved. A night in late summer that was unusually cool, I hung out with some friends to catch up on True Blood episodes. My friends, L and M, are awesome hosts and laid out the munchies for the vampire fest. Along with the chips and hummus, there were spicy pickled green beans.

The green beans were firey, crunchy, tangy and slightly salty. No, did not get the name of the brand because I was caught-up in vampires, shape shifters, zealots and other creatures of the bayou. But I savored the pickled veg and decided to try my hand at making a quick version for quick consumption.

I have never made a real (keep it on a dark shelf for months) pickle before so the recipe I came up with IS NOT for long-term canning/preserving. It's a quick pickle, for quick consumption. They should keep for several weeks in the fridge. There are a load of websites if you want to get down and get serious with the process.

Here's a link to one: http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can6b_pickle.html
National Center for Food Preservation.

What would be very on point is to purchase a product from one of purveyors in this Cooking Lounge post. And of course, use this recipe as a guide to make your own.

Enjoy,
Cooking Lounge!