Easy entertaining – Quick & Spicy Pickled Vegetables – break out a relish tray, Bijouxs modern take on a perfectly classic little jewel.
Upon arriving at Mother’s guests were greeted with a welcome tray – bowls of tasty, special little jewels – salty and crunchy bites such as olives, homemade pickles, celery, carrots, salted roasted nuts and crunchy bread sticks. The traditional relish tray has a place in most families’ hearts, a perfectly classic little jewel that continues to remain a family favorite.
The relish tray has a storied past, beginning in Colonial times, providing a salty crunch and pretty eye in contrast to the dull, smoked and dried foods that prevailed from fall through March, when nothing green graced the table continuing through the 1960’s with the ubiquitous cut glass relish dishes that graced just about every holiday table.
I still love the welcoming, classic tradition of a relish tray. The light, crisp, salty morsels precede the richer, lavish holiday fare. Every family seems to have favorite relish tray treats and opting for little nibbles provides an easy entertaining start for almost any meal.
The moment I laid eyes on these delicate, foraged mini-cucumbers from Frieda’s Produce at the PMS Fresh Summit, I knew they would make the perfect little jewels for quick pickle. (I mistakenly referred to them as Indian Cucumbers in my prior post)
Quick & Spicy Pickled Vegetables add a fresh element to the modern relish tray. A variety of vegetables create great ‘refrigerator’ pickles, here I paired mini-cucumbers and pearl onions, which also make a great addition to cocktails. Baby carrots, celery, sliced cucumbers, and jicima may be pickled raw; thin green beans, asparagus, and okra are best blanched until crisp tender, then into the quick pickle jar. This recipe is flexible, add the spices and fresh herbs that you enjoy. The vegetables pickle overnight in the refrigerator – ready to serve the next day.
A recent Bijouxs impromptu modern relish tray included bowls of Quick & Spicy Pickled Vegetables joined by on-hand and pantry items, such lovely Lucques olives, sour bites of caperberries, salty rich cashews, crispy cheese bread sticks, fresh cherry tomatoes and smoked black pepper pickles, all arranged in bowls and simple white platters – easy entertaining.
Quick & Spicy Pickled Vegetables and the modern relish tray – little jewels for easy holiday entertaining.
As always, enjoy. B
I’ve been hearing a lot about that summit! GREG
A produce paradise, but I narrowed it down to Five Little Jewels!
Pickled veggies are GOOD and really easy to do. Try substituting a couple teaspoons to a tablespoon of tandoori seasoning for the other spices. It gives it just a bit of bite without overwhelming the veggies. The great thing about pickled veggies is that it works on almost every veggie – try some of the common Chinese vegetables if you have access, such as lotus root. As Lynn says, parboil for a couple of minutes – you want them to still have significant “crunch,” so don’t cook them – just enough time to take a bit of the rawness out.
Cauliflower is a whole new beast when pickled. Try this!
I love the Tandoori spice idea – perfect with cauliflower indeed! Thank you for sharing Brian!