Pickling with spices, vinegar, wine and herbs and preservation in oil almost certainly owes its origins to the Roman occupation of the barbarian North some two thousand years ago, so it is hardly surprising there’s a powerful pickling tradition throughout the Mediterranean. And it is kept alive by the Italian community living in Britain as well.
We in Britain often seem unaware of the natural foods that are all round us; we are even less comfortable when it comes to using and eating some of these things. Consider wild fungi. In Italy they are picked and consumed in vast quantities; here we sometimes seem afraid even to touch them. Some Italian Londoners can hardly believe their luck when they find they have, literally, the field to themselves. Antonio Carluccio, of the Neal Street Restaurant in Covent Garden, adores fungi and has a man whose job is to collect as many varieties as possible. He plunders the suburbs for ‘The Chicken of the Woods’ (Polyporus sulphureus) and has been known to procure truffles from Dover. Carluccio not only cooks these fungi, he pickles them—saffron milk caps, wood blewits, tiny puffballs, St George’s mushrooms, ceps and many, many more.
He celebrates his particular passion by serving antipasti consisting largely of a glorious array of pickled and preserved things: three or four kinds of fungi, slices of aubergine done in oil and vinegar, sun-dried tomatoes with little pieces of anchovy sandwiched between them.
Throughout the Mediterranean—especially in Italy—pickles are the natural accompaniment to cured meats and salamis: there are vivid colourful peppers, asparagus in oil, tiny gherkins, crinkle-cut carrots, turnips and globe artichokes. Most of them are mildly pickled for immediate consumption. They are a world away from the jars of so-called ‘cocktail pickles’ still sold in some of our supermarkets.
There is also fruit pickled with sugar and mustard oil—the famous Mostarda di Cremona—and there is still a fondness for pickling small birds in Cyprus. But the most famous pickle of all is the olive. Columella, writing in the first century AD, said you should, ‘Scald and drain olives, and then place them in a layer in an amphora, covered with a layer of dry salt and a final layer of herbs.’ In the sixteenth century they had other ideas: one writer suggested making up a pickle of river water with wine vinegar, orange, citron and lemon juice, as well as the leaves from those trees, plus bay leaves, elder twigs, olive branches and sprigs of wild fennel—to give the olives ‘a gentle taste and smell’. Recipes for pickling and preserving olives still vary from region to region and most are jealously guarded family secrets—even though olive pickling is big business.
Italian Pickled Wild Mushrooms
The Italians love pickled wild mushrooms and make use of scores of different varieties. Most common are porcini—common ceps (Boletus edulis)—but this recipe can be adapted for almost any kind of fleshy edible fungus. It is essential to check a reliable identification guide if you intend to go hunting for wild mushrooms.
MAKES ABOUT 450 g (1 lb)
450 g (1 lb) EDIBLE WILD MUSHROOMS, SUCH AS CEPS
50 g (2 oz) SALT
300 ml (10 fl oz) DRY WHITE WINE
300 ml (10 fl oz) WHITE-WINE VINEGAR
1x5 ml SPOON (1 TEASPOON) BLACK PEPPERCORNS
1x5 ml SPOON (1 TEASPOON) DRIED OREGANO
2 CLOVES GARLIC, PEELED
2x15 ml SPOONS (2 TABLESPOONS) OLIVE OIL
Sort through the mushrooms, discarding any that are damaged or blemished. Cut off the base of the stalks, if necessary, and wipe with a damp cloth. Blanch the mushrooms in boiling salted water for 5 minutes, then drain.When cold, pack into cleaned, sterilised jars.
Boil the wine and vinegar with the peppercorns, oregano and garlic for 5 minutes. Set aside to cool, then pour over the mushrooms, making sure they are completely covered; the spices and herbs should be included in the pickle. Add the olive oil as a sealing layer and extra flavouring. Cover and store for 1 month before opening. Use up within 3 months.
This is one of the most colourful of all Mediterranean pickles—particularly if you use red, green and yellow peppers to highlight the effect.
MAKES ABOUT 450 g (1 lb)
4 SWEET PEPPERS OF DIFFERENT COLOURS, CORED, SEEDED AND HALVED OR CUT INTO LARGE PIECES
2 SPRIGS FRESH BASIL PER JAR
1 DRIED RED CHILLI (OPTIONAL) PER JAR
300 ml (10 fl oz) WHITE-WINE VINEGAR
50 g (2 oz) SALT
2x15 ml SPOONS (2 TABLESPOONS) OLIVE OIL
Pack the peppers tightly into cleaned, sterilised jars with the basil and chilli if you want something spicy. Arrange as decoratively as possible to show off the different colours.
Heat 600 ml (1 pint) water with the vinegar and salt in a pan for 5 minutes, until dissolved. Set aside to cool, then pour over the peppers, making sure they are well covered and there aren’t any air pockets. Pour over the olive oil to form a sealing layer. Cover the jars well and use within 2 months.
We sampled a version of this brilliant pickle in Antonio Carluccio’s Neal Street Restaurant in London’s Covent Garden. He serves it as part of a spectacular antipasti dominated by half-a-dozen different pickled and preserved things, from rare fungi to sun-dried tomatoes. This is not Carluccio’s recipe, but it produces excellent results. Some recipes suggest that the aubergines should be peeled, but it does not seem to be essential.
MAKES ABOUT 1 kg (2 lb)
4 LARGE AUBERGINES, TOPPED AND TAILED AND SLICED
2x15 ml SPOONS (2 TABLESPOONS) SALT
300 ml (10 fl oz) WHITE-WINE VINEGAR
4 CLOVES GARLIC, PEELED AND SLICED
1x15 ml SPOON (1 TABLESPOON) DRIED OREGANO
2x15 ml SPOONS (2 TABLESPOONS) OLIVE OIL
Put the sliced aubergines into a colander and scatter with salt. Mix well, put a plate on top and leave for about 2 hours. Press well to remove excess moisture, then strain and blanch in hot vinegar for 5 minutes. Remove the aubergines and pack into cleaned, sterilised jars, putting slices of garlic and a sprinkling of oregano between the layers.
When the vinegar is cold, pour over the aubergines. Top with a layer of olive oil. Seal well and keep for about 2 weeks before opening. This pickle will keep well for at least 3 months.
Fresh green olives are a rarity in England, but it’s worth knowing what to do if you happen to procure a bagful.
MAKES ABOUT 1 kg (2 lb)
1 kg (2 lb) GREEN OLIVES)
100 g (4 oz) SALT
1 LEMON, QUARTERED
1x5 ml SPOON (1 TEASPOON) DRIED OREGANO
1x15 ml SPOON (1 TABLESPOON) CHOPPED FRESH THYME
1 GARLIC, HALVED
Sort through the olives, throwing out any damaged ones and bits of leaf or stalk. Prick them all over with a pin and put into an earthenware crock or plastic container and cover with cold water. Soak for a week, changing the water every 2 days: this removes the bitterness from the olives. Drain well.
Make up a brine with the salt and 2.25 litres (4 pints) water and pour over the olives, covering them completely. Add the lemon, oregano, thyme and garlic. Cover with a clean wooden board and leave in a cool place for 2 weeks—they are then ready to use and should keep well for several months.
In this recipe the asparagus is preserved in a mixture of wine, wine vinegar and olive oil. It is quick pickle, almost like a marinade.
MAKES ABOUT 350 g (12 oz)
450 g (1 lb) ASPARAGUS
1x5 ml SPOON (1 TEASPOON) SALT
180 ml (6 fl oz) OLIVE OIL
50 ml (2 fl oz) DRY WHITE WINE
50 ml (2 fl oz) WHITE-WINE VINEGAR
Trim the asparagus, cutting off the woody base of the stems until the sticks are about 15 cm (6 inches) long at the most, making them as even as possible. Put the sticks into a pan of salted water and bring to the boil, then remove from the heat, strain and refresh under cold water. Drain well.
Pack the asparagus carefully in cleaned, sterilised jars, keeping the sticks upright.Whisk the olive oil, wine and vinegar in a bowl and pour into the jars, so the asparagus sticks are covered. The pickle can be eaten the same day, and will keep good for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.
We were scouring the Italian delicatessens around Soho in London, trying to glean some information about Italian pickling—with no great success. In one place, a man browsing through the shelves suddenly spoke up and proclaimed, ‘My mother makes pickled clementines in Wales’. That was too good an opportunity to miss, and we pleaded for the recipe. In due course the full details arrived in a letter. So thanks to Mrs Bosi of Aberdovey for sharing her secrets.
Small clementines are best of all, but any fruit of the tangerine family will do. They go particularly well with pork, poultry and game.
16 SMALL CLEMENTINES
1x2.5 ml SPOON (½ TEASPOON) BICARBONATE OF SODA
12 ALLSPICE BERRIES
1 CINNAMON STICK, 5-7.5 cm (2-3 INCHES) LONG
1 cm (½ INCH) FRESH ROOT GINGER, PEELED
12 CLOVES
300 ml (10 fl oz) WHITE-WINE VINEGAR
450 g (1 lb) LIGHT BROWN SUGAR
Wash the clementines and pierce a few holes in the skins with a clean fork. Put them in a large, heavy-bottomed pan, cover with water, add the bicarbonate of soda and boil for 12 minutes.
Place the allspice, cinnamon, ginger and cloves in a piece of muslin and tie with string to make a bag. Add this and the vinegar to the pan and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the spice bag and turn the heat down to low. Add the sugar, stir until dissolved, then bring back to the boil and simmer for a further 20 minutes, covered.
Lift the fruit from the liquid with a slotted spoon and pack carefully into wide-mouthed sterilised jars. Continue to simmer the liquid in the covered pan for a further 10 minutes, set aside to cool slightly, then pour over the fruit, making sure they are completely covered. Seal the jars and store in a cool place. They will remain good for several months.
This method of pickling fish originated in Spain and came to England in the eighteenth century, probably by way of the West Indies. The idea is to steep lightly salted and fried fish in a mixture of spiced vinegar and olive oil flavoured with herbs and vegetables. Small fish such as sprats can be pickled whole; others such as mackerel or haddock can be preserved as fillets or chunks. The following recipe is for sprats.
MAKES ABOUT 750 g (1¾ lb)
450 g (1 lb) SPRATS
MILK FOR COATING
PLAIN FLOUR FOR DUSTING
OLIVE OIL FOR FRYING
150 ml (5 fl oz) OLIVE OIL
1 CARROT, CHOPPED
1 ONION, CHOPPED
2 CLOVES GARLIC, CHOPPED
2 BAY LEAVES
1 SPRIG THYME
2 DRIED CHILLIES
300 ml (10 fl oz) WHITE-WINE VINEGAR
Wash the sprats but leave them whole and ungutted. Dip each fish in milk, then roll in flour to give it a very light coating. Shallow-fry briskly in some of the olive oil for 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain well on kitchen paper, then arrange in a shallow ovenproof dish.
Fry the carrot, onion and garlic in olive oil for 2-3 minutes until they are nicely browned. Add the remaining ingredients and cook for 10-15 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Pour the hot pickle over the fish, leave to cool, then put in the refrigerator for 24 hours before eating.
The liquor becomes slightly jellied as it cools. Some recipes, in fact, suggest adding gelatine to produce a kind of pickled fish in aspic.
The eel-breeders of Comacchio in Northern Italy lived in a strange isolated community where life was dictated by the daily business of fish farming and fish curing. According to J.G. Bertram in his book The Harvest of the Sea, 1873, fishermen had already started to dig dykes and build flood gates to control the flow of water between the lagoon and the Adriatic by the end of the thirteenth century. This was effective, organised farming of the waters; in fact the fishermen even regarded the breeding pools as fields, as if they had been planted with grain seeds.
Much of the work at Comacchio was taken up with cooking and pickling the eels in the vast kitchen. The fish were cut into lengths and roasted on spits, then packed into barrels with a mixture of salt and vinegar: always the strongest vinegar and grey rock salt. The barrels were then sealed and stamped ready for export.
On a small scale this method has been modified: first the eels are lightly salted, then fried in oil and finally packed in glass jars or stone jugs with a mixture of weakened vinegar, oil, black peppercorns, mace, bay leaves and lemon peel. This recipe has echoes of Comacchio, although it is only intended to keep for a few days.
MAKES ABOUT 1.5 kg (3 lb)
175 ml (6 fl oz) CORN OIL
450 g (1 lb) ONIONS, SLICED
6 CLOVES GARLIC
2x5 ml SPOONS (2 TEASPOONS) DRIED THYME
2 BAY LEAVES
1x5 ml SPOON (1 TEASPOON) BLACK PEPPERCORNS
300 ml (10 fl oz) WHITE-WINE VINEGAR
PEEL OF 1 LEMON, CUT INTO STRIPS
1 kg (2 lb) EEL, CLEANED AND CUT INTO 7.5 cm (3 INCH) CHUNKS
3x15 ml SPOONS (3 TABLESPOONS) LEMON JUICE
3x15 ml SPOONS (3 TABLESPOONS) CORN OIL
Heat the oil gently in a large pan and add the onions, garlic, thyme, bay leaves and peppercorns. Fry until the onions are soft and yellow, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Pour in 300 ml (10 fl oz) water and the vinegar, add the strips of lemon peel, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Rub the eel with lemon juice and set aside for 30 minutes. Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the eel and cook for 5 minutes, gently turning the pieces so they are evenly fried. Transfer to a shallow dish and pour the cold pickle over them. Cover and put into the refrigerator for 24 hours before serving. All this dish needs is some good bread and some good wine.
Sun-Dried Tomatoes Preserved in Oil
One product symbolises the Italian culinary renaissance above all others: sun-dried tomatoes. Jars of them, preserved in oil, are available everywhere, but you can also buy the genuine dehydrated article from delicatessens and supermarkets.Making your own is fun and it gives you the opportunity to experiment with different flavours (Antonio Carluccio’s secret is to add a few anchovy fillets).
Use sun-dried tomatoes in pasta dishes and as part of fashionable, up-tothe- minute salads. They can be chopped up and added to sauces, and work wonders in tomato chutney. Of course, they are also great eaten straight from the jar.
MAKES ABOUT 450 g (1 lb)
450 g (1 lb) SUN-DRIED TOMATOES
1x5 ml SPOON (1 TEASPOON) SALT
50 g (2 oz) ANCHOVY FILLETS, DRAINED AND CHOPPED INTO 2.5 cm (1 INCH) LENGTHS
2 CLOVES GARLIC, PEELED AND SLICED INTO THIN SLIVERS (OPTIONAL)
2x5 ml SPOONS (2 TEASPOONS) DRIED OREGANO
EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
Soak the sun-dried tomatoes in warm water for 20-30 minutes or until they start to become soft. Test by biting into the corner of one: it should be chewy, but succulent and bursting with flavour. Drain the tomatoes well, sprinkle with salt and spread out to dry on absorbent paper.
When the tomatoes are dry, begin to pack the jars. Start with a layer of tomatoes, then add pieces of anchovy, slivers of garlic and a sprinkling of oregano as you proceed. Pour on some olive oil from time to time and press down well so that there are no air pockets in the jar. Finally, add enough oil to cover the tomatoes completely. Seal and store in a cool dark place. Use as required.