Fiesta flavored refrigerator pickles

On my way home from Portland early Wednesday morning (way too early, in my opinion),  I decided to get off Bart at Civic Center which put me right in front of a beautiful farmer’s market. And what can I say? I am a total sucker for beautiful farmer’s market veggies. I ended up coming home with a good bounty – red and yellow bell peppers, cucumbers, cilantro and some blackberries and apples.

My husband always talks about his mom’s refrigerator pickles (she uses veggies from their garden) and so I decided to give it a try myself (hello, freggies!). I wanted to use the cilantro and give them a fresh, crisp flavor – a fiesta type theme – and they turned out pretty amazing. Check out my recipe:

Ingredients:

• Handfuls of fresh cilantro
• 3 tsp. mixed peppercorns
• 1-1/2 tsp. coriander seeds
• 3 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• 4-5 mini cucumbers, sliced into thin rounds
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced into thin rounds
• 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced into thin rounds
• 1-1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
• 1-1/4 c. water
• 2 tsp. kosher salt
• 2-1/2 tbsp honey

 

In a large glass bowl (or jars) add the cilantro, peppercorns, coriander, red pepper flakes, peppers and cucumbers. Set aside.

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the apple cider vinegar, water, salt, and honey to a boil. Let it cool just a little and then pour the hot mixture over contents in the jar, pressing down on the vegetables so that it covers them completely. Let it cool on the counter to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or 2 days for maximum flavor. They can  keep in the refrigerator for about 2 months.

Stay Sweaty friends!

XOXO,

Jamie