Simple homemade pickles couldn’t be easier than my delicious Moroccan spiced carrots recipe – hence ‘pickles for dummies’!
Pickling is not something that I’ve done a lot of and, in the past, the thought of preserving something as exotic as Moroccan Spiced Carrots would never have occurred to me. However, now that I’m (ahem) a little more mature, I realise just how incredibly simple making my own pickles can be.
Pickling doesn’t need to be rocket science, and neither it is. Sometimes it’s just a matter of brining fresh, excess, seasonal produce, and sticking it in the fridge to be enjoyed at some point in the future.
Of course, these days we all know how good fermented foods are, and how necessary they are for gut health and the general wellbeing of our microbiome. Most fermentation processes are ancient; they were invented in a time when food preservation was a matter of life or death in communities subject to extreme seasonal variations, and are – at their most basic – dead simple.
Now if there’s one food preparation method I prefer it’s a dead simple one – hence my fondness for these recipes that I’m now calling ‘pickling for dummies’. (And I’m referring to myself, naturally, not you – oh cultured and erudite reader. 🙂 )
I was reminded of these simple pickle recipes by a friend who was searching for my pickled cucumber recipe this weekend. She has a prolific veggie garden (and has had, since well before the current Covid crisis of 2020) and found herself with more cucumbers than she could easily, surreptitiously and immediately slip onto her family’s dinner plates.
That recipe is a total doddle, so I wanted to add another idiot-proof pickle recipe to the menu – these very moreish Moroccan spiced carrots. I first made Moroccan spiced carrots way back when I jarred the pickled cucumbers, but I now have in my possession a very fancy julienne grater, and I think the carrots look much lovelier prepared this way. Just so long as I can keep my fingers intact when I’m grating.
Moroccan Spiced Carrots
Equipment
- Prepare your jars by scalding with boiling water, or running through a hot dishwasher cycle, then standing in an oven, preheated to 150C, for 10 minutes.
Ingredients
- 500 gms carrots, (approx)
- 1 zest of one lemon
- 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
- 1 tsp coriander seeds, cracked
- 1 tsp cumin seeds, cracked
- 1 cup filtered water
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 3 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Julienne carrots, or slice thinly into batons, place in sterilised jars.
- Combine the rest of ingredients in a saucepan over low heat. Bring to boil, then simmer together for three minutes.
- Pour the liquid over the carrots, taking care to cover completely.
- Seal, cool, then store in the fridge.
Peggy Bright
Looks amazing.
Amanda
And don’t forget the ‘dead simple’ bit!