It is a great time of year to visit your local greenmarket. Everything is seemingly in season and at the peak of tastiness. When you think in a few short weeks a lot of these vegetables will begin to disappear, it is hard not to buy one of everything. There is no better way to save a bit of summer than by pickling vegetables at their peak. To be honest I would argue that the best way to prepare a Wax Bean is to pickle it.
The below recipe is adapted from The Amateur Gourmet. I like my pickled vegetables spicy but feel free to edit for your personal tastes. It is nearly impossible to screw-up the pickles with your spice choices.
Pickled Yellow Wax Beans
1 pound yelow wax beans
5 cloves garlic (one per jar)
1 tablespoon coriander seed
3 jalapenos halved (one half per jar, whole one in a big jar)
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
5 dried hot peppers (one per jar)
4 cups apple cider vinegar
2 cups rice wine vinegar
2 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons sugar
Cut the stems off of the beans and make sure none on the peppers have their stems on either and be sure to peel your garlic. Add all the ingredients except the wax beans to a sauce pan and bring to a simmer for a minute or two. At this point you can pour the mixture over the beans in a jar or even a plastic delivery container and store in your refrigerator for up to a month. I suggest waiting 4 days to allow the pickling mixture to work it’s magic. If you want to take the next step to preserve them log term, don’t be intimidated and follow these few rules: Guidelines for Pickling.
The finished product is excellent in a tomato salad with red onions, olive oil, salt and pepper. My favorite application is to use them to garnish your next round of Bloody Mary’s.
