Having a pantry full of home-made pickles and chutneys is a very satisfying feeling and quickly makes a meal more satisfying.
Elliot-Howery should know - she discovered the ‘‘hard’’ way.
Her partner filled their tiny backyard with zuchinis their children did not like and after a while their friends and family were overloaded and could not take any more.
‘‘I couldn’t bear the thought of throwing food away. So I thought I’d give pickling a go.
‘‘And once I’d begun, I couldn’t stop.’’
Intensely focused on figuring out ways to reduce food waste on a domestic level in a busy urban neighbourhood, she taught herself as many traditional food skills as she could to deal with any excess.
‘‘I preserved obsessively, putting anything I could get my hands on into a jar.
‘‘Homegrown vegetables, fruit from the neighbours’ unloved trees, whatever was cheap at the markets or was left over in the fridge at the end of the week.’’
She filled her garage with pickles, chutneys, sauces, jams, marmalade and sauerkraut.
They then decided to open a little cafe, Cornersmith, in their neighbourhood highlighting the way they ate at home assembling a variety of delicious elements - one or two vegetable dishes, a jar of pickles or ferments, a nice loaf of bread and a small simple protein such as a wedge of cheese, boiled eggs, a grilled piece of fish or meat.
Elliott-Howery became known for her pickles and ferments and locals would bring their excess in for her to preserve and it would end up on the menu later in the year.
Soon after they started up a pickles and cooking school to share her knowledge and opened another cafe as she continued to spread the word about food sustainability.
‘‘Pickling for us has come to represent much more than just delicious condiments.
‘‘While pickling and eating pickles, we talk about the importance of cooking from scratch and knowing where your food comes from, share helpful tips to reduce food waste and teach food history and sustainability.’’
Having a pantry full of home-made pickles and chutneys is a very satisfying feeling as they quickly make a meal more interesting and you always have a gift on hand.
‘‘It’s a real buzz to know that you have rescued excess food and turned it into something delicious.’’
Nothing is safe from Elliot-Howery who turns all sorts into preserves including mango, stone fruits, grapes, Brussels sprouts and pears alongside more traditional green tomato, cauliflower and chilli relishes.
Getting started is easy, she says. Just look in the fridge, fruit bowl or garden and see what needs using up. Get some vinegar, sugar, salt, a few spices, a saucepan and a few jars and read up about the process of pickling, jar sterilisation.
‘‘Start small and give it a go.
‘‘Then the next time you’re doing the shopping, grab a big bottle of vinegar and a couple of kilograms of something that’s cheap, abundant, in season and looking good and try your hand at making a bigger batch.’’
Pocket Pickler is divided into the seasons to make it quick and easy to find recipes for what’s in season now to turn into a pickle, chutney or ferment.
Rhubarb & red onion relish
Makes 4 x 300ml
(1¼ cup) jars
Lovely with cheddar, eggs or at a barbecue or Christmas lunch, this is an excellent relish to stock in the pantry or give as a gift.
Roasting the rhubarb really intensifies the flavour, so don’t skip this step.
It also cuts down on cooking time, once it’s in the pot.
Ingredients
1kg rhubarb stalks, washed, trimmed and cut into 5cm lengths
2 Tbsp caster (superfine) sugar
500ml (2 cups) red wine vinegar
80ml (⅓ cup) vegetable oil
500g red onion, thinly sliced
50g grated fresh ginger
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground fenugreek
2-3 garlic cloves, crushed
500g apples, peeled and grated
200g (1 scant cup) brown sugar
1-2 tsp salt
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Spread the rhubarb evenly over two baking trays. Sprinkle with the caster sugar and 80 ml (⅓ cup) of the vinegar.
Mix with your hands to combine.
Roast the rhubarb for about 20 mins until soft and slightly caramelised.
Meanwhile, heat the vegetable oil in a non-reactive, medium-sized saucepan.
Add the onion and sauté over medium heat for about eight mins, until soft and translucent.
Add the ginger, spices and garlic, saute two mins until fragrant, stirring constantly.
Add the roasted rhubarb to the pan, along with the remaining vinegar, grated apple, brown sugar and salt, stirring to combine well. Reduce the heat to low.
Simmer, uncovered, for about 30 mins, stirring now and then, until the relish is thick and glossy, with no puddles on the surface.
Meanwhile, sterilise your jars and lids.
Carefully fill the hot jars with the hot relish.
Remove any air bubbles by gently tapping each jar on the work surface and sliding a clean butterknife or chopstick around the inside to release any hidden air pockets.
Wipe the rims of the jars with a paper towel or a clean damp cloth and seal immediately.
Leave to cool on the benchtop, then store in the fridge for up to six months.
To extend the shelf life to two years, heat-process the jars for 10 mins.
Once opened, refrigerate and use within three months.
TIP: If you have some relish left over after you’ve filled your jars, store it in an airtight container in the fridge and use within three weeks.
Chilli sambal
We make mountains of this sambal when chilli season is in full swing. So quick and easy to make, it gives tacos, rice dishes, marinades and breakfast eggs a good hit of heat.
We use carrot as a base in this recipe as it adds sweetness and gives the sambal a fantastically bright colour, but you could experiment with other bases such as green mango or pineapple. Try green or yellow chillies too.
With fruit-based sambals, you may need to add more vinegar to loosen them.
Keep tasting and adjusting the sugar to salt ratio until you’re happy with the flavour.
Makes 4-5 x 375ml
(1½ cup) jars
Ingredients
750g long mild red chillies
250g carrot
50g knob of fresh ginger
4 garlic cloves
55g (¼ cup) caster (superfine) sugar
1 Tbsp salt
185ml (¾ cup) white wine vinegar
Method
Sterilise your jars and lids.
Roughly chop the chillies, carrot, ginger and garlic. Put them in a food processor with the sugar and salt and blitz for 5 mins. Slowly pour in the vinegar until your sambal has a smooth consistency; you may need to adjust the quantity.
When the jars are cool enough to handle, pack the sambal into the jars, pressing down firmly to make sure the chilli paste is covered in a thin layer of liquid.
Remove any air bubbles by gently tapping each jar on the work surface and sliding a clean butter knife or chopstick around the inside to release any hidden air pockets. Wipe the rims of the jars with a paper towel or a clean damp cloth and seal immediately.
You can store the sambal in the fridge for up to 3 months, or heat-process the jars for 10 mins and store in a cool, dark place for up to 2 years.
Once opened, refrigerate and use within 3 months.
TIP: If your chillies are extra hot or if you prefer your sambal milder, you can always change the ratio. Try 500g carrot to 500g chillies or even 750g carrot to 250g chillies.
Rescued apple chutney
We used to make this chutney a lot when the children were little, using up all the apples from the fruit bowl with only one little bite taken out.
This recipe is a good way to rescue fruit that is floury, bruised or wrinkled.
Try it with pears, plums or even pumpkin (squash).
Change the spices to whatever you have in the pantry.
Makes 1 x 500ml
(2 cup) jar
Ingredients
3 Tbsp olive, sunflower or vegetable oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp brown or yellow mustard seeds
½ tsp ground cinnamon
A pinch of ground cloves (or use 2 whole cloves)
A pinch of cayenne pepper
1-2 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
3 apples, roughly chopped with the skin on
125 ml (½ cup) red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
55g (¼ cup) sugar of your choice
Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat and saute the onion (or that half onion leftover in the fridge) with the salt until soft and sweet. Add the mustard seeds, cinnamon, cloves, cayenne and ginger. Mix well, then throw in the apples, vinegar and sugar.
Reduce the heat and gently simmer until you have a thick and glossy chutney (add a little water if the chutney starts to look dry). Taste and add extra spices or sugar if needed. Allow to cool a little, then spoon into an airtight container or clean jar and store in the fridge for up to 1 month.
How-to guide
Sterilising jars and bottles
To sterilise jars or bottles, give them a wash in hot soapy water and a good rinse, then place them upright in a baking dish in a cold oven. Heat the oven to 110°C (225°F) and, once it has reached temperature, leave the jars in the oven for about 10-15 mins, or until completely dry, then remove them carefully.
For hot packing, pour the hot chutney straight into the hot jars; for cold packing, let the jars cool before adding your pickles or preserves.
To sterilise the lids, place them in a large saucepan of boiling water for 5 mins, then drain and dry with clean paper towels, or leave them on a wire rack to air dry. Ensure they are completely dry before using.
Heat-processing
Also called water bathing or canning, this process uses heat to stop the growth of bacteria. It generates pressure inside the preserving jar or bottle, which forces out any oxygen, creating an uninhabitable environment for micro-organisms.
Treating your preserves in this way has two benefits: it lengthens their shelf life, and it ensures the jars or bottles are sealed correctly. Opinions differ on when heat-processing is necessary, but at Cornersmith we encourage our students to heat-process any cold-packed preserves, pickles and bottled fruit as well as large batches of chutneys and jams.
Get the biggest pan you have, such as a stockpot the taller, the better and put it on the stovetop. Lay a folded tea towel (dish towel) in the bottom of the pan, then sit your jars on the tea towel, taking care not to cram them in, and keeping them clear of the sides of the pan. (All these measures are to stop the jars from wobbling around and cracking as the water boils.)
Roughly match the water temperature to the temperature of the jars (to help prevent breakages from thermal shock), then pour in enough water to cover the jars, either completely or at least until three-quarters submerged. Bring to the boil over medium heat. The heat-processing times given in the recipes start from boiling point, and will generally be 10-15 mins for jars or bottles up to 500ml (2 cup) capacity, or 20 mins for larger capacities.
You might have one or two breakages when you’re starting out. The worst that can happen is that the remaining jars will swim in pickles for the rest of the processing time. Just keep going, then take the surviving jars out at the end and give them a wipe down. If they all break, you have our permission to have a gin and a lie down!
Once the heat-processing time is up, the lids should be puffed up and convex. Carefully remove the hot jars from the water. If you’ve bought some clamps, now is the time to use them, or you can use oven mitts and a thick cloth to protect your hands.
Line your jars up on the benchtop and let them sit overnight. As they cool, a vacuum will form inside each jar and suck down the lid, sealing them securely. In the morning, the lids should be concave: either get down to eye level with the top of the jar to check for the tell-tale dip in the lid, or lay a pencil across each lid to show the cavity below it.
If you have concerns about the seal of any of your jars (sometimes a couple of jars fail to seal correctly), store them in the fridge and use their contents within a few weeks.
