Instant Pickles

The boy likes these with a barbecued burger. Their saving grace is that when he wakes up on a Saturday and decides it’s barbecue day, we can have these ready within the hour.

2tbsp sugar

1tbsp boiling water

4tbsp cider vinegar

2 cups thinly sliced cucumber

Sea salt & fresh pepper

Any fresh herbs you have to hand

I like to use the small cucumbers, but use what you have. We have mint growing through cracks in the patio, and plenty of thyme, so that takes care of the herb element, though next time I make this I want to try it with fresh coriander.

Dissolve the sugar in the water and then add the vinegar. If you have time, salt the cucumber first to remove excess water. Rinse and dry them with a paper towel. They will just suck up the vinegar all the faster. Add to the vinegar. Season and add the chopped herbs. Chill in the fridge for at least an hour. They will be fresher and sharper than most pickles, so perfect with barbecue, though they won’t last more than a day or so. If we have a barbecue lunch, the boy will be having left over meat in sandwiches and will usually finish off any remaining pickle.

On this occasion we had this with belly pork strips that we’d marinated with jerk seasoning, lime juice and thyme. We also had coleslaw, some of which made it into the boy’s next day sandwiches.