Name: Pickled Vegetables
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients: 6 small carrots (about 8 oz.), peeled, sliced on a diagonal; 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes; 1 medium fennel bulb, trimmed, thinly sliced; 1 tsp. ground turmeric; 1 medium red onion, sliced ½" thick; 2 cups distilled white vinegar; ½ cup (100 g) sugar; 2 Tbsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 Tbsp. plus ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt

Small bowl of bright colored pickled vegetables including carrots onions and fennel.

Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Sean Dooley, Prop Styling by JoJo Li

Pickling has long been a practical and affordable way of preserving inexpensive in-season produce. And while you may no longer need to put up dozens of jars to last you through a rough winter, a small batch of bright, crunchy-punchy pickles can be a thrifty, tasty, and colorful addition to your dinner table.

Pouring the hot brine over the vegetables will soften them just a bit and speed the pickling process along. If you’re in a real hurry, the carrots and onion will still be tasty with a four-hour marinade time, but the turmeric fennel needs at least 12 hours for maximum blinding color.

For more highly craveable recipes that’ll help save you some $$$ along the way, check out Shilpa’s monthly column What a Steal.

Recipe notes

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