July 24, 2013

Rainbow Chard Quick Pickles

One of the best things about being back in LA? The farmer’s markets.

Sure, there are a ton of open air markets in Paris, but a large chunk of the produce vendors get their fruits and vegetables from Rungis, a huge warehouse wholesale food market in the suburbs. This beautiful bundle of rainbow chard, on the other hand, was purchased at the Mar Vista Farmer’s Market, from a kindly gentleman from Jimenez Family Farm, who informed me that no pesticides were used in growing it — “We use bugs to kill bugs.”

I used the leaves in a sausage and sweet potato soup, and was left with the vibrant rainbow stalks. So I pickled them. Waste not, want not, right?

Added benefit: after a few days, the brine leeches a bit of the color out of the stalks, making the prettiest picklebacks ever.

Print

Rainbow Chard Quick Pickles

Yield: 1 pint of rainbow chard pickles and brine.

Ingredients

• stalks from 1 bunch of rainbow chard
• 3/4 cup boiling water
• 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 2 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt

Directions

1. Trim the rainbow chard stalks so they will fit vertically into a pint-sized mason jar. Remove any extraneous leaf matter. Place the stalks in the jar; it should be a tight fit.
2. Mix the boiling water, vinegar, sugar, and salt, and stir until the sugar and salt dissolve. Pour the mixture into the jar over the chard stalks and seal tightly. Refrigerate.
3. The pickles will be ready in about four days, and will keep for about a month.

2.5

http://www.dianeabroad.com/2013/07/rainbow-chard-quick-pickles/

Copyright Diane, A Broad (dianeabroad.com)

Posted in: sides | Tags: chard pickles, color, condiment, david chang, food, food photography, mason jar, momofuku, photography, pickle, pickles, quick pickle, rainbow chard, rainbow chard pickles, recipe, side, stak pickles, vinegar

4 Responses to “Rainbow Chard Quick Pickles”

1. RBJello says:

   July 25, 2013 at 7:06 am

   Love the colors and glad you’re enjoying the fresh produce in LA! Hope the move back went well. Miss you!

   Reply
2. BentonandTilley says:

   July 25, 2013 at 11:11 am

   Delicious-o-rama! London has a lovely food market called Borough Market. I’ve been going to it regularly and many of the farms there are pesticide free, which is super nice!

   Best,
   Anne

   http://www.bentonandtilley.com

   Reply
3. Laura Grai says:

   July 26, 2013 at 10:00 pm

   The colors in that first picture are just gorgeous! I love a good farmers market.

   Reply
4. chocolatecookiesandcandies says:

   July 31, 2013 at 3:40 pm

   Brilliant idea! I’d never thought of keeping the stalks and turning them into pickles. I’ve never ever seen chard in these colors too.

   Reply