Thursday 11 August 2011

Piccallilililiiii


I never know when to stop with Piccalilli, it's a bit like banananana.

I remember being a funky 18 year old (yes I was one once!) and visiting an older relative in the middle of her making Piccalilli. I was aghast, make Piccililli? I mean make it? Why? Is that even possible? And if it is why would you bother?

I think at that point if you'd told me that not only would I made my own Piccalilli one day but that I'd be photographing it as I went along to show the world what I'd done I think I would have thrown myself under the nearest bus.

Hooray for not being 18 any more, that's what I say.

I've finally got a few bona fide gluts from our allotments. Last year I was rather disappointed that our only true gluts came from the wild larder. Although we had plenty from the allotment I was never in danger of being overwhelmed. This year, however, is shaping up to be different!

Yesterday I could only bring home the fruits from 2 of our 5 Patty Pan squash plants because my flexi bucket was full and I was staggering under the weight of it so I currently have 16 patty pans at home with probably another 24 still on the allotment.

I'm wrangling this particular glut by pickling like mad, including today's Piccalilli. (That's why you bother, my 18 year old self, to use up the sodding summer squash!) I used Pam Corbin's recipe from the River Cottage Preserve book. My version had patty pan squash, courgettes, onion, carrots and broccoli. I wasn't sure if the broccoli was a bit bonkers or not but Pam says green crunchy veg is the secret to a good Piccalilli so hopefully it'll work. It needs a few weeks to mature but I nibbled some while I was potting it up and it was lovely if a tad vinegary but that's what maturation is for.

So, 1 patty pan down, 31 to go .....




7 comments:

  1. oh I adore piccalilli, nope I don't know whether I spelled that right or not. I must get my hands on some, preferably home made. Treat!

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  2. Hi Tracy, thanks for visiting my blog. Very amusing post, and your piccalillilli sounds fab; I think you'd get your 5-a-day just from this! Good to find you... and you've got another follower:-)
    Jane Gray

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  3. Hi you

    I make this every year too and the Pam Corbin recipe is the best that I have ever come across. Have made this for the past couple of years OH is a picallili fan and the rest of the family are partial too. Glad you found a use for the Pattypan. I use the cipher Pattypan because I am Patricia Anne! Haven't had any Pattypan to play with. Hope you are okay and happy pickling

    Pattypan

    xx

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  4. Glad you can vouch for the recipe, what do you think of broccoli in it? Will it work? Bit late now if you say no! You should SO grow some patty pans, they're really easy and prolific to say the least!

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  5. Mmmmm, I love it with cauliflower cheese. Everyone thinks I'm nuts, but it works!

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  6. I have used a mixture of vegetables in the past including carrot, marrow, cucumber, pickling onions, red onion, peppers red, green and yellow cauliflower, I have even used the Romanesco and it has always come out well using this particular recipe. The vegetables come out much crisper by this method - all the other recipes I have tried tend to over cook the pickle whereas in this recipe it has the bare minimum of heating through so the recipe stays far crisper. One of the girls I work with her parents are in their 80's and her father and mother is partial to picalilli - I gave her a couple of jars of this and they reckoned it was the nicest picalilli that they had ever had. I intend to get to grips with the garden next year- I have some serious sorting out this September to square up the jungle before winter takes hold so that I can take advantage early on in the season nexct year - I might even recover the Greenhouse (that's another story). Take care

    Catch you soon

    Pattypan

    xx

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  7. I have never grown patty pan...and never tried piccaallliillii.... ( I don't know when to stop either...lol) let alone made any...maybe it's one of those things I need to have a go at!

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