Steven Lamb
ALSO KNOWN AS
Cornichon, dill pickle
MORE RECIPES
Spider crab salad; Crumbed whiting goujons with curried egg tartare
These crisp, pickled cucumbers are, to my mind, the best condiment ever – and there is no greater sport than trying to fish the tiny, tart torpedoes out of a jar that is always teasingly too narrow in the neck.
The squat, knobbly cucumber varieties from which gherkins are derived differ slightly from the big, smooth, thin-skinned cucumbers we slice into our salads, but they are from the same family. You can buy gherkin seeds but, if you grow your own cucumbers of any type, there is no reason not to pick them young and pickle them. Most recipes call for a simple preserving in brine or vinegar, with dill or other aromatics such as white peppercorns or coriander seeds.
Small gherkins are often referred to as cornichons, though technically this describes a specific French type, grown from certain varieties such as ‘Vert Petit de Paris’ and harvested young, so that they are particularly tart and firm. In the US, gherkins are referred to as dill pickles, but are essentially the same thing.
Gherkins go with almost anything – pastrami on rye, pâtés, brawn, smoked fish, burgers, etc. Their salty, vinegary sharpness counteracts the richness of cheeses and charcuterie particularly well. For the classic tartare sauce to serve with fish, chopped gherkins are combined with mayonnaise, capers, lemon juice and parsley or tarragon.
The gherkin’s gnarly green appearance is a barrier to some – especially the larger varieties you see swimming around in jars of vinegar on chip-shop shelves like sleeping sea slugs. But within that barnacled exterior lies a silky, salty flesh, so wonderful you can eat it solo. The graceful gradient of green in a sliced gherkin visually lifts any dish and belies that direct, snap-punch-kick of flavour. Norman Foster & Partners knew what they were doing aligning their skyscraper design in London’s financial district to such a wonder.
NEW POTATO AND EGG SALAD WITH GHERKINS AND CAPERS
This takes its inspiration from the flavours of a classic tartare sauce. Ideal as a barbecue side, it is particularly good with smoky, grilled mackerel. Serves 6 as a side dish
1kg new potatoes, scrubbed, halved if large
4 medium eggs, at room temperature
A bunch of spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced
80g gherkins, chopped
3 tbsp chopped dill (or parsley if you prefer)
50g baby capers, rinsed and drained
Sea salt and black pepper
FOR THE DRESSING
½ garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tsp English mustard
1 tsp clear honey
1½ tbsp cider vinegar
5 tbsp extra virgin olive or rapeseed oil
Put the potatoes in a saucepan, cover with water and add salt. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 8–12 minutes until tender. Drain and allow to cool slightly.
Meanwhile, bring another pan of water to the boil for the eggs. Add the eggs and cook for 7 minutes (this will give you eggs with a still-soft centre). Run the eggs under cold water for a minute or two to stop the cooking, then leave to cool.
For the dressing, whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Once the potatoes have cooled slightly, cut them into bite-sized pieces. Add the dressing to the warm potatoes and mix gently but well. (Adding the dressing while the potatoes are still warm means they soak up more flavour, but it is not essential.) Leave to cool.
Add the spring onions, gherkins, dill and capers to the potatoes. Give it all a good mix and add a little more salt or pepper if needed. Heap into a serving dish. Peel and quarter the boiled eggs, arrange them over the potatoes and serve.