Kurt R.A. Giambastiani

Growing up, there were two foods I hated: liver and asparagus.

As an adult, I learned that the reason I hated those foods: my mom cooked the bejeezus out of them, turning the former into chew-toys and the latter into grey-green cylinders that were half vegetal mush and half indigestible cellulose. While liver never made it into my Top Ten, asparagus has become one of my favorite foods.

I roast my asparagus. I sauté it. I blanch it for salads and drop bias-cut slivers into soups. I add it to omelettes, quiches, crepes, pasta. I like it thick as a finger or thin as a cocktail straw. And now, I have a new way to enjoy it: pickled.

Don’t fear; this isn’t canning, with its attendant protocols and fears of botulism. No, this is easy. This is my kind of pickling: refrigerator pickling. It won’t keep on shelf through the nuclear winter, but it will last in the fridge for a month, no sweat.

The result is a spear that is tangy, savory, possibly with a bit of heat (your choice), but that’s still firm with a hint of crispness.

Great for snacks, salads, and the perfect accompaniment to charcuterie.

Refrigerator Pickled Asparagus

Makes enough to fill a half-gallon jar.

Hardware

• You’ll need a large-ish, container with a lid. It doesn’t have to be vacuum-seal air-tight—this isn’t canning— but the container’s height will dictate how long your pickled spears will be.
  • I prefer a glass clamp-lid jar between 50 and 72 fluid ounces, like this one—it’s water-tight, so it won’t spill if it gets tipped whilst I retrieve it from the back of the fridge—but anything that is sturdy enough to handle the hot brine will work.

Ingredients

• The Veg
  • 1 large bunch of fresh asparagus, trimmed
  • 1/2 cup white onion, halved and thinly sliced
  • 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• The Brine
  • 1 1/2 cups white vinegar
  • 3 cups water
  • 2 tablespoons coarse salt (or any non-iodized salt)
  • 1 tablespoon white sugar
• The Spices (optional, but encouraged)
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
    • Increase/decrease according to your taste
  • 1 tablespoon pickling spice
    • See Note below for suggested blend

Procedure

Prep the Veg

• Lightly smash the garlic cloves
• Arrange the asparagus, in the container (the spears tips should be about an inch below the lid, when closed down) 
• Tuck the onion and garlic down around and amongst the spears.
• Sprinkle the pickling spice and/or red pepper flakes you are using over the spear tips

Prep the Brine

• Put vinegar, water, sugar, and salt in a non-reactive saucepan and place on a medium heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve the crystals
• Bring to a high simmer/just beneath a boil

Ready, Set, Pickle!

• Remove the hot brine from the heat and pour into the container, over the spears
• Let cool to room temperature
• Clamp down the lid and put in the fridge
• Best after a couple of days, but keeps for a month or more

Notes

• If your brine doesn’t entirely cover the tips of the spears (they float, so push them down to make sure), add extra hot water. The spears will sag down a little as they pickle.
• I’ve separated the red pepper flakes from my pickling spice blend, so you can adjust the heat to your own Scoville preference.
• For an all-purpose pickling spice blend (useful in other pickling and corned beef):
  • Mix roughly equal parts of the following spices:
    • coriander seeds
    • black peppercorns
    • yellow mustard seeds
    • allspice berries
    • whole cloves
    • ground ginger
    • ground turmeric
    • crumbled bay leaf
    • crushed cinnamon bark
  • Store any leftover mixture in a sealed container in the spice cabinet (or fridge)
  • If you’re missing some of the spices, omit or adjust or substitute according to your whim (but keep to the aromatics, eh?)

k