Condiments

Fermented Vegetables
When fermenting food, you can use two methods: dry salt fermenting (meaning no brine) and brine ferment. This recipe is one I learnt from my wonderful lecturer, Asa Simonsson, at the College of Naturopathic Medicine.

But please be careful when fermenting – if you have high blood pressure, consult your doctor first!

I use either fresh Himalyan salt or fresh sea salt. If you use 1kg of vegetables for a dry ferment, use 15g of salt; whereas a brine ferment will use 30g of salt to 1 litre of water. Always ensure you have a clean, dry and sterilized Kilner jar or similar jar that seals properly. If washed in the dishwasher, pop your clean jar (without the lid) in the oven at 100C for about 10 minutes, remove and let it cool down. Boil the lid for the same amount of time and remove to cool down. You also need a weight of some sort – cleanly scrubbed garden stones big enough to fit through the neck of your jar is perfect, provided that they are sterilized properly. If you use cabbage, use the outside leaves as weights.

Below are two of my favourites!

Cauliflower, Carrot and Onion Pickles
400g cauliflower
400g carrots
200g onions
30 – 60g good quality salt
2 sprigs fresh oregano (I add this in as it changes the taste, but you can omit it)
1 tbsp mustard seeds
15 black pepper corns
1 litre filtered water

Make the brine by dissolving the salt in the water. This may take a while, so prepare it before the time and allow to settle and dissolve. Stir again when you are ready to pour it in the vegetables.
Wash your vegetables thoroughly and discard bad bits and the peel of the onions. Cut the onions into eights and the carrots into thick coins. Break the cauliflower into small florets. Put the vegetables into the sterilized and cool jar, pressing then down as hard as possible, but take care not to damage them.
Make sure all the salt in your brine has dissolved, and pour the brine over the vegetables, covering them completely. If you don’t use all the water, keep it in the fridge as you may need to top up your ferments during the fermentation period.

Sour Tomatoes with Rosemary, Basil and Thyme
1kg tomatoes (I find cherry tomatoes on the vine perfect as they are quite sweet!)
1 carrot
1 onion
4 garlic cloves
3 twigs of fresh thyme
3 springs of fresh rosemary
5 – 6 fresh basil leaves
10g whole black pepper corns
30g – 45g good quality salt
1 litre filtered water
Make the brine as described in the previous recipe. Wash the tomatoes, carrots and herbs. Peel the onion and garlic and chop the onion roughly. Keep the garlic whole.

Cut the tomatoes in half and cut the carrots into coins (no need to peel the carrots). Pack the vegetables and herbs into your clean and sterilized jar, making sure they are well packed. Pour the brine over all the vegetables until completely covered.

This ferment will keep for a few months in the fridge if unopened, but it is so delicious that you will want to eat it all the time! Great with pasta, with meat or as a pickle on a sandwich!