Sides

Shallot, Cauliflower and Green Bean Piccalilli

British piccalilli is a curious beast - a British interpretation of Indian and South Asian mustard pickles, which they would have been exposed to during the Raj (the British occupation in India). It consists of vegetables such as green beans, shallots and cauliflower preserved in a pickling liquid that's flavoured with turmeric and mustard. This tangy pickle tastes great with cold slices of ham and some rustic homemade bread

20 minutes prep, 30 minutes cook

Serves 1 kilo

Ingredients

700ml malt vinegar

2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced

2 tsp coriander seeds

Sea salt

400g shallots, peeled

3 tbsp English mustard

2 tbsp plain flour

2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp ground ginger

Pinch of allspice

200ml cider vinegar

225g granulated sugar

½ to 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped (optional)

300g small cauliflower florets, approx 3cm in size

100g green beans, trimmed and cut into 4cm lengths

1 bay leaf

Method

Place the malt vinegar, garlic, coriander seeds in a large heavy based pan and bring to the boil, add ½ tsp of salt and blanch the shallots in the vinegar for 3 minutes or till just softened but still crunchy.

Remove from the pan and reserve. Repeat with the cauliflower blanching for 2 minutes and then the green beans for one minute and set aside. Reserve the malt vinegar liquid.

Meanwhile put the mustard, flour, turmeric, ginger, allspice in a small bowl and whisk in the cider vinegar until smooth. Place the mustard mixture in a saucepan and whisk in the reserved malt vinegar and sugar, stir slowly all the time until the sugar has dissolved then bring to the boil. Simmer for 6 minutes and then add the chilli and cook for a further two minutes making sure the sauce coats the back of the spoon.

Add the cooked vegetables and the bay leaf, stir well and take off the heat ensuring all the vegetables are well coated.

Sterilise the jars by washing in warm soapy water, rinsing and placing in a moderately heated oven for 5 minutes.

Spoon the mixture into sterilised jars or kilner jars. If the jars are not kilner jars cover the piccalilli with wax jam discs, cellophane and elastic bands as metal lids can sometimes react with the contents.