Not wanting to come home to a fridge drawer full of rotting vegetables, I made pickled cucumbers or salatalik tursusu before we left for the bayram.
In Turkey, Turks seem to love pickled vegetables. They serve them on the side as a condiment with g�zleme at my favorite pazar. There are even stores that sell nothing but pickled - well, everything! I like pickles, but I'm much more of a sweets kind-of person.
The pickle recipe I made is based more off a Thai cucumber salad, which often accompanies spring rolls or barbecued foods. We sometimes eat these cucumbers with noodle or stir-fry dishes at home.
I used a leftover large tomato paste jar and placed the finished salatalik tursusu in the fridge for later. The pickles easily keep for several weeks.
While the recipe isn�t Turkish, I did use mainly Turkish ingredients. Hope you enjoy!
Afiyet Olsun!
In Turkey, Turks seem to love pickled vegetables. They serve them on the side as a condiment with g�zleme at my favorite pazar. There are even stores that sell nothing but pickled - well, everything! I like pickles, but I'm much more of a sweets kind-of person.
The pickle recipe I made is based more off a Thai cucumber salad, which often accompanies spring rolls or barbecued foods. We sometimes eat these cucumbers with noodle or stir-fry dishes at home.
I used a leftover large tomato paste jar and placed the finished salatalik tursusu in the fridge for later. The pickles easily keep for several weeks.
While the recipe isn�t Turkish, I did use mainly Turkish ingredients. Hope you enjoy!
Afiyet Olsun!
Sweet, Tangy Salatalik Tursusu
Ingredients:
500 grams (about 1 lb.) cucumbers (Be sure to use a pickling variety.)
240 ml. (1 c.) water
240 ml. (1 c.) sugar
240 ml. (1 c.) rice wine vinegar or elma sirkesi (I�ve bought my rice vinegar from Real and S�tte, but the elma sirkesi works just as well.)
pinch salt
Optional:
1 � tsp. pul biber or crushed red pepper flakes
1-2 stalks lemongrass, smashed and chopped into �-inch pieces
1. First, wash and slice the cucumbers into thin slices. Set aside.
2. In a medium-sized pot, add the water, sugar, vinegar, salt and, if using, the red pepper flakes and lemongrass.
3. Bring this mixture to a boil, making sure the sugar is dissolved.
4. Let the mixture steep until room temperature and then strain. Place the cucumbers in a jar. Pour the liquid over the cucumbers, chill and serve.
Note: you will probably end up with more liquid than you need. If so, you can always save it to pickle something else.