Makes four 17½ fl oz (500 ml) preserving jars, 1.5hours Preparation, 1month Pickling

Our tangy Pickled vegetables are perfect with Italian Meats, cheeses and bread for a lovely lunch spread.

Ingredients

• 8oz/225g red onions, peeled
• 8oz/225g courgettes
• 12oz/350g aubergine
• 9oz/250g trimmed fennel bulb
• 1 medium red pepper
• 1 medium yellow pepper
• 4oz/110g button mushrooms
• 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 4oz/110g cherry tomatoes (or small vine tomatoes)
• 7 tablespoons olive oil
• 1¼-1½ pints/725-850 ml good-quality white wine vinegar
• 8 fresh bay leaves
• 8 small sprigs each fresh rosemary and thyme
• 16 black peppercorns
• 6oz/175g sea salt

Method

This recipe has to be started the night before to salt the vegetables… 

1. Work your way through the list of vegetables until they are all prepared as follows: cut each onion into eight wedges through the root; top and tail courgettes and aubergine then cut into thick matchsticks; cut the fennel bulb into wedges and lastly, core and deseed the peppers and cut them into 2 inch/5 cm chunks.
2. Next, layer all of the vegetables apart from the garlic and tomatoes, in a non-metallic bowl. As you put them in, sprinkle some salt between each layer. Once they are all in and salted pour over 3 pints/1.75 litres of water, cover with a plate with a weight on it to submerge the vegetables, and leave the bowl in a cool place overnight.
3. The following day, drain the vegetables in a colander then rinse them well under cold, running water. Once rinsed, shake off the excess water and dry them in a clean tea towel and leave them spread out for about 3 hours on another clean tea towel to dry thoroughly.

Once the vegetables are prepared…

1. Once the vegetables are dry, tip them into a bowl and stir in the garlic, tomatoes and olive oil. 
2. Next you need to sterilise the jars you will be keeping them in. To do this, wash the jars and lids in warm, soapy water, rinse well (again in warm water), then dry them thoroughly with a clean towel then lace them on a baking tray and pop them in a medium oven, gas mark 4/350ºF/180ºC for a minimum of 5 minutes.

When the jars are prepared you can start to assemble the pickled vegetables…

1. Pour a thin layer of vinegar into the bottom of the hot, sterilised jars and add a bay leaf, a sprig of rosemary and a sprig of thyme. Then pop in the vegetables in the jar pushing them down lightly as you go along, making sure you add the remainder of the herbs and peppercorns as you go, and pour in enough vinegar over each layer to ensure the vegetables are covered completely.
2. When all the veg etc. is in the jars, swivel the jars to make sure the air is expelled and really press the vegetables down under the liquid before you cover with vinegar-proof lids. Label when cold and store the pickles in a cool, dry, dark place to mellow for a month before eating. They will keep like this for up to 6 months.