When you go to Tartine Bakery, they give you a spicy pickled carrot with your tartine. Like really spicy. And also perfectly crisp and sweet. A little of the vinegary juice runs into the toast in a really nice way. And there’s something beautiful and odd about how a pickled carrot goes so well with an openfaced toast. So now that I’m back on the sourdough train, I decided to recreate the experience. I can’t have one without the other now.
One of the most common requests I get on my blog and instagram are asking pickling questions! I always do quick pickling–nothing fancy. Just a little vinegar and some other pantry ingredients are all you really need.
For the added spice, I sliced up a jalapeno and added it to my brine with the carrots. If you’ve never done a quick pickle, it’s super easy! Just warm all your pickling liquids slightly to dissolve salts and sugars, then pour over your vegetables in a jar. I don’t know why I haven’t been doing this for years, given my vinegar obsession. I also made a batch of pickled jalapenos in the same brine, but I think they’ll need a bit more time to soak than the carrots before they’re just right. You can apply this brine to just about anything, and anyone can do it. Here’s how we do it!
Peel your carrots and cut off the ends, quartering them longways. Tartine pickles the whole carrot, which I tried, but for something more versatile, quarter them longways. Slice your jalapenos crosswise.
To make your pickling liquid, add vinegars, water, salt and sugar to a saucepan over low heat to dissolve the sugars. Then let it cool to room temperature. I chose a little bit of apple cider vinegar and distilled white vinegar so that it wouldn’t be too strongly apple flavored.
Boil your carrots for just one minute and then drain, rinsing them in very cold water. This is called blanching! You’re learning things!
Place your carrots and jalapeno in the jar and pour the cooled liquid over them in the jar. If your liquid doesn’t fully cover the carrots, add equal parts white vinegar and water until full.
Aren’t these gorgeous! And what a fun thing to have on a charcuterie board or for guests! You can keep these in the refrigerator for up to one month. They’re not shelf-stable. I hope you love my recipe. See the full recipe below.
- 6 whole carrots
- 1 jalapeno
- ¾ cup distilled white vinegar
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1¼ cups lukewarm water
- Peel the carrots and slice off the stem end. Cut them in half longways and then in half longways again. Slice off the end of your jalapeno and then cut into slices crosswise.
- In a small saucepan over low heat, add the white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, kosher salt, sugar, and water. Stir until all sugar and salt is dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
- Bring a medium saucepan with water to boil. Add the carrots and boil for one minute. Then drain and rinse with very cold water to stop the cooking. Place the carrots and jalapenos in a jar and pour the cooled pickling liquid over them until the jar is full. If there's not enough liquid to cover them, add equal parts white vinegar and water until full. Screw on the lid and refrigerate. Eat after 1 day and up to 1 month later, refrigerated.
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