How can I use leftover pickle brine in day-to-day cooking? | Kitchen aide
I’m an avid consumer of pickles, especially gherkins.When I’ve finished a jar, how can I use the brine in my cooking?Geoff, SheffieldLast year, Dua Lipa poured Diet Coke into an ice-filled glass, topped it up with the brine from both a tub of pickles (plus a few rogue pickles) and a tub of jalapeños, swirled it around, then drank it.While someone under the viral TikTok video asked, “Dua, is everything OK?”, the pop star is right about one thing: it’s time we start thinking of pickle brine as an ingredient, rather than a byproduct.“The brine retains all of that delicious pickle flavour,” says Moon Lee, head chef of no-waste restaurant Silo in London, “and a mixture of sweet and savoury undertones”.Also, because it’s fermented, “it has an almost tangy, kombucha-like taste, too.
I’m from Korea, and we always make use of kimchi juice, whether in a dressing, as a seasoning for noodles or in pancake batter,Why can’t pickle brine have the same potential?”Good point well made, but what does that mean in practice? “We’ve previously combined cucumber with pickle brine and cold-pressed rapeseed oil, then topped it with chopped shallots that have been marinated in salt and sugar,” Moon says; she reckons the same approach would work a treat with wild fennel, especially,Meanwhile, pickle brine also “makes a great seasoning”, says Stuart Ralston, executive chef and owner of Aizle, Lyla, Noto and Tipo, all in Edinburgh, and will put some pucker into your potatoes: “A few spoonfuls of pickle brine will make a potato salad, for example, more interesting,” Alternatively, combine 150ml each of vegetable oil and olive oil with 110ml pickle brine, 60g dijon mustard and 5g chopped fresh oregano, then “adjust the seasoning, if need be, but that won’t be far off”,Use that to dress a roast chicken, Ralston says, to serve with boiled potatoes and crisp salad leaves.
Otherwise, Ralston might use the stuff to brine a chicken – “give it a few hours to make the bird more tender and retain moisture” – while the Guardian’s own zero-waste correspondent, Tom Hunt, uses it to brine pork chops for similar reasons: “Pickle juice is brimming with flavour and salt, which is exactly what’s needed to make the most flavourful pork chop out there.” Put your chop or chops in a tub in which they’ll fit snugly, then pour over the pickle juice: “Ideally enough to submerge the chop, but even a small amount will work wonders.” Leave to marinate for three hours, and ideally overnight, then, when you’re ready to cook, “lift the chops from the brine, pat dry with a clean towel and cook using your preferred method”.Of course, spent pickle brine can also simply be used to pickle something else, Moon says: “It’s a common fermentation technique known as ‘backslopping’.Keep a small amount of used brine and add it to a new batch to accelerate the pickling process.
”That said, if you want to channel your inner Dua Lipa and down some pickle brine, instead, Ralston reckons it’s probably best to hold the cola: “When I lived in America, I’d often have a bloody mary at brunch, and a few splashes of gherkin brine, say, really give it a kick.” That’s not a bad way to get yourself out of a pickle.Got a culinary dilemma? Email feast@theguardian.com
How can I use leftover pickle brine in day-to-day cooking? | Kitchen aide
I’m an avid consumer of pickles, especially gherkins. When I’ve finished a jar, how can I use the brine in my cooking?Geoff, SheffieldLast year, Dua Lipa poured Diet Coke into an ice-filled glass, topped it up with the brine from both a tub of pickles (plus a few rogue pickles) and a tub of jalapeños, swirled it around, then drank it. While someone under the viral TikTok video asked, “Dua, is everything OK?”, the pop star is right about one thing: it’s time we start thinking of pickle brine as an ingredient, rather than a byproduct.“The brine retains all of that delicious pickle flavour,” says Moon Lee, head chef of no-waste restaurant Silo in London, “and a mixture of sweet and savoury undertones”. Also, because it’s fermented, “it has an almost tangy, kombucha-like taste, too
How to turn veg scraps into a delicious dip – recipe | Waste not
My friend Hayley North is a retreat chef whose cooking is inspired by the Chinese “five elements” theory: fire, earth, metal, water and wood. Each element corresponds to a colour and an organ in the body (earth, for example, is yellow and linked to the spleen). Years ago, Hayley made me the most deliciously vibrant and earthy bright-red dip from kale, and today’s recipe is a homage to her nourishing, elemental approach, while also saving scraps from the bin.I love the adage “eat the rainbow”. Yes, it’s a bit corny, but it works, and sometimes the simplest advice is really the best
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What better way to welcome the weekend than with the smell and sound of herb-loaded ijeh frying? This is a thick, delicious frittata-like mixture of courgettes, leeks, peas, herbs and eggs, and in Palestine it’s often made with finely chopped onions, too. I always keep a couple of tins of ful (fava beans) in my pantry for those times when I crave a quick and satisfying late breakfast or weekend lunch. When simple toast and butter won’t do the trick and I’m in need of something more substantial and savoury, that’s when fava beans come to the rescue.You can substitute the eggs with feta for an extra-creamy and salty touch. Alternatively, the dish works beautifully as a vegan dish without the eggs
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First up, a crostata-inspired jam tart that’s perfect for afternoon tea or nibbling throughout the day. Fennel seeds in the buttery pastry give a subtle flavour surprise, although you could omit them, or try coriander seeds or ginger instead. A small batch of jam is surprisingly quick to make, but you can, of course, use shop-bought, or make use of one of those jars living rent-free in your cupboard. Then, a summer pudding-inspired cake that makes a delightful centrepiece – the juices from the berries absorb into the top third of the sponge, giving it a gorgeous, ombre tone that looks as beautiful as it tastes.Use a mixture of whatever berries are plentiful; frozen will work well, too
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Crab deserves to be celebrated, but that doesn’t mean it has to be a super-fancy, laborious meal. Crab midweek? Yes, please, and fried rice is my fallback whenever I am in a dinner pickle. That’s not to belittle its deliciousness, complexity or elegance, though, because this spiced crab version can be as fancy as you like. That said, the speed and ease with which I can create a meal that I know everyone will love is the winning factor. Plus, I often have leftover cooked, chilled rice in the fridge, anyway, which is always the clincher (cooked rice has a better texture for frying once chilled)
Rukmini Iyer’s quick and easy recipe for courgette linguine with trout, lemon and dill | Quick and easy
This is such a lovely, summery dish: it takes under 30 minutes from start to finish, and I found it immensely reviving after a long day. The grated courgette melts into the pasta, and works perfectly with the lemon, trout and a hit of chilli. If you have one of those multi-nut and seed mixes (the M&S 35-plant one is excellent), by all means add a scoop to finish; otherwise, a scattering of toasted pine nuts will add a welcome crunch. An elegant dinner for two.Prep 10 min Cook 20 min Serves 22 trout fillets 2½ tbsp olive oilSea saltJuice and finely grated zest of ½ lemon, plus 2 lemon slices180g linguine 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely grated1 tsp chilli flakes1 large courgette, trimmed and coarsely grated10g fresh dill, roughly chopped 4 tbsp pine nuts, or 4 tbsp omega nut and seed mixHeat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6
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