Pink turnip pickle

Turnips are a strange phenomenon: no one ever seems to buy or eat them, yet almost every falafel joint, kebab shop and Middle Eastern restaurant serves these pink pickles. They are sulfurous and a bit funky at first taste, but completely addictive once you get over the initial shock. Serve them before or with rich, spicy meats, like lamb shawarma (here) or beef kofta (here), as they will cut through the fat nicely. They do benefit from being paired with mint, for flavor and beauty. To achieve that pretty pink, we use a little bit of sliced beet—if you can, don’t skip this stage. You can use the rest of the beets for one of the other recipes in the book.

Serves 4–6 to nibble on

4 small turnips (about 14 oz/400g)

2 thin slices of peeled beets

1 tsp salt

⅔ cup/150ml white wine vinegar

⅔ cup/150ml water

1 bay leaf

5 cloves

Peel the turnips and dice them into ¾ in/2cm cubes. Place in an airtight container with the beet slices and sprinkle with the salt. Allow to sit for 1 hour at room temperature.

Heat the vinegar, water, bay leaf and cloves until they come to the boil. Remove from the heat immediately and pour over the turnips. Push the turnips down so they are all covered in liquid and seal the container. Leave to cool to room temperature, then place in the fridge.

The turnips will be ready to eat the next day but will improve with time. If stored in an unopened airtight container, they can last for up to a month in the fridge, but once opened they should be eaten within 2 weeks.

Turmeric cauliflower pickle

This isn’t a fast pickle per se—it will take up to a week to mature fully and then needs to be transferred to the fridge to keep its crunch—but it is fast to make. You don’t need to heat the pickling liquid as it would cook the cauliflower too quickly, and instead of crunchy flowers you would get wilted ones.

Serves 4–6 to nibble on

1 small head of cauliflower, divided into small florets

1 heaped tsp salt

1 heaped tsp ground turmeric

2½ tsp mustard seeds

2½ tsp cumin seeds

1 whole dried red chili

2 bay leaves

1¼ cups/300ml water

½ cup/100ml white wine vinegar

Place the cauliflower in a sterilized jar^* and sprinkle with the salt and all the spices and herbs. Cover with the water and vinegar. Seal and place on a windowsill for 2–3 days, during which time the color should deepen. Then place the jar in the fridge—the pickles are ready to eat once cold, but for full flavor wait another 2–3 days. They can last for up to a month in the fridge, but once opened they should be eaten within 2 weeks.

Pickled chilies

This is another kebab shop staple. We used to buy these in and when our supplier ran out we thought nothing of it, till we faced an uproar and disappointment from our regulars, especially Adam, a young writer who comes in for breakfast meetings. After a few horrible attempts, we came up with this good recipe. If you are an addict, knock yourself out.

16 long green chilies

1 quart/1 liter water

1 heaped tsp salt

1 heaped tsp sugar

white wine vinegar

salt water (1 heaped tsp salt dissolved in 1 cup/250ml water)

Pierce each chili 3–4 times with a toothpick. Bring the water, salt and sugar to the boil, add the chilies and boil until they soften.

Remove chilies from the cooking liquid and pack tightly into a sterilized jar.^* Cover halfway with vinegar, then top up with the salt water (depending on the size of the jar and chilies, you may not use all the salt water, or you may need a bit more). Make sure the chilies are submerged entirely, then seal the jar and place on a windowsill in direct sun to ferment for a week, after which they will be ready to eat. You can keep the sealed jar in a cool, dark place for up to a month, but once opened you should keep the jar in the fridge and consume the chilies within a week.