Autumn piccalilli with pear

Autumn piccalilli with pear

Eaten immediately, this pickle will have a punchy tang, perfect with strong cheeses, but by winter the flavours will mellow, ideal for sliced ham.

Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

5 x 500ml jars

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 20 mins

Cook time

Cook 15 mins

plus salting overnight
Vegetarian

Vegetarian

Method

  1. In a bowl, mix together the vegetables, pears and salt with 2 litres of cold water, then cover and leave overnight.
  2. The next day, drain the brine from the vegetables, rinse briefly, then tip into a large saucepan with the vinegar, ginger, coriander seeds, mustard seeds and sugar. Bring to the boil and simmer for 8-10 mins until the veg is just tender but still with a little bite. Drain the vegetables, reserving the liquid, and set aside while you make the sweet mustard sauce.
  3. In a large bowl, stir together the cornflour, mustard powder and turmeric, then gradually pour in the hot vinegar while whisking, until you have a lump-free, thin yellow sauce. Return it to the saucepan and bubble over a low heat, stirring constantly, for 4 mins until smooth and thickened. Stir in the veg and spoon into five sterilised 500ml jars while hot, then seal. Once cool, enjoy straight away, or store in a cool, dark cupboard for 2-3 months. Refrigerate once opened.
Try

Know-how

To sterilise jars, run them through the dishwasher, or wash well in hot soapy water, rinse, then dry in a low oven. If you're pickling and recycling old jam jars, it's important to cover the pickle with a wax disc first so the metal lid doesn't react with the vinegar.

PER SERVING

31 kcalories, protein 1.0g, carbohydrate 6.0g, fat 0.0 g, saturated fat 1.0g, fibre 0.0g, sugar 5.0g, salt 1.01 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, October 2008.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 1-20

  • Binder photo yummystuff

    08 October 2008

    yummystuff rated and commented on this recipe

    1 stars

    Warning, this is an awful recipe! It says 8 tablespoons of cornflour, I used 8 gently rounded spoonfuls and the resulting pickle was so solid that it could be sliced! Even 8 level tablespoonfuls would be too much thickening. I had to bin the entire lot! Also the flavour wasn't good, a bit bitter. Don't bother - make Delia's piccalilli!

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  • Binder photo sallybobs

    12 October 2008

    sallybobs rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Thought it was yummy. I just watched the sauce mix closely to stop it getting too thick. Would perhaps make 1/2 quantities in future as didn't have pan big enough (& I have some big pans)

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  • Binder photo Roby

    22 October 2008

    Roby commented on this recipe

    Don't know what yummystuff did, mine turned out lovely. I did look at Delia's recipe but it contained flour and I am allergic to gluten, so this recipe was perfect. I did take special care to measure the cornflour out, levelling the spoon with a knife. Will definately make again.

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  • Binder photo Pip-a-doodle

    06 December 2008

    Pip-a-doodle commented on this recipe

    I am a bit slap dash with measurements and some of my spoons of cornflour were heaped. This recipe still turned out great. Have to agree though, finding a pan big enough was challenging. Think this yields more than 5 jars. Tastes Great with the British Banger and mash.

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  • Binder photo michelle

    07 January 2009

    michelle commented on this recipe

    Would be better without the coriander seeds, they are little surprise time bombs waiting to happen. Apart from that - just loved it!

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  • Binder photo marmalady

    12 July 2009

    marmalady commented on this recipe

    I love piccallilli, but I'm desperate to find a recipe for something similiar called 'military pickle' - anyone got any recipes for this?

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  • Binder photo Rolybird

    12 August 2009

    Rolybird rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Well it looks the part and, as the recipie says, it's tangy but you will have to wait 3 months for the real feedback! I had no problem with the sauce, in fact i have bottled the left overs for another project such as a marinade. Look forward to handing the piccalli out as part of christmas hamper present that I am planning.

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  • Binder photo MacyMoo

    27 October 2009

    MacyMoo rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    I tried this last week. I accidentally added 3 tablespoons of tumeric after not reading the recipe correctly but luckily managed to recover most of it as it was the last thing added to the pile. I thought 8 tablespoons of cornflower was a lot as well, and ended up adding more of the liquid mixture which saved it! I also found it really hard finding black mustard seeds in my area, but they do sell them in the big supermarkets if you buy online. Having made it I think its far superior to shop bought piccalilli and would definitely make it again next year.

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  • Binder photo Carena

    10 November 2009

    Carena commented on this recipe

    Great recipe, quick and easy. I read the warning about the quanity of cornflour so I mixed the cornflour, turmeric and mustard powder seperately with a small quantity of reserved cold vinegar and then mixed with the hot vinegar in a seperate pan adjusting quantities until I got the consistency right. I also added a chopped red chilli to give it a bit more bite. To avoid the sudden burst of coriander, try lightly crushing the seeds before adding them.

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  • Binder photo Paul N London

    20 November 2009

    Paul N London rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I can't wait to taste this once it has aged! I couldn't find baby onions and settled for some shallots that I cut into 1cm pieces. I nearly filled 12 one pound jars - a real shame that the last 4/5ths full jar isn't going to make it to the cupboard. These are to go in hampers I make for the family for Christmas.

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  • Binder photo rachie72

    05 January 2010

    rachie72 rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo skakule

    12 November 2010

    skakule rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    It´s true that the recipe makes an awful lot! I made it last autumn and I still have 2 half-pint jars in my cupboard which doesn´t matter as the stuff is lovely. Must admit that I added a few handfuls of raisins to balance the tanginess a little and skipped most of the ginger as it gives me a really bad heartburn...

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  • Binder photo Harriet

    18 November 2010

    Harriet commented on this recipe

    Excellent recipe!! I'd never made any kind of pickle before and so was a bit aprehensive but this was really easy and tastes great. This recipe definitley makes more than it says - we filled six 500 ml jars plus two re-used jam jars.

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  • Binder photo bev

    22 November 2010

    bev rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I hate picalli since smelling it as a child but as I have the preserve making bug I thought I would try this recipe. I halved the ingredients and after reading the comments about the sauce, added the cornflour mixture steadily until the right consistency was reached. I tasted the sauce and it was lovely so will definately be trying picalli for the first time this year!

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  • Binder photo sailorgirl

    01 December 2010

    sailorgirl commented on this recipe

    Made this yesterday. Had some on my cheese sandwich at lunch time today to try it, and it's really lovely. I used baby onions and normal pickling vinegar as I could not get any cider vinegar. We don't like big pieces in the piccalilli so I chopped the veg and pear up small and it cooked in just 8 mins in my big pan. It made 5 500 ml jars, little stocking fillers for parents and sister.

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  • Binder photo vegetarian recipes

    11 March 2011

    vegetarian recipes commented on this recipe

    i have been looking for a piccally recipe for ages that i cn convert for my diabetic husband and if i use canderel i think i can make an acceptable alternative to the traditional preserve.

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  • Binder photo JOOLES

    10 July 2011

    JOOLES rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This has turned out beautifully. I used all home-grown veg. It was easy and I had no problems with just the use of my jam pan and largest saucepan. I've jarred plenty up and I've also given away a jar each to my mum and mother-in-law, full marks given by both. One of the jars we will eat now and the rest put away for Christmas. mmmm turkey and home-made piccalilli sarnies.

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  • Binder photo Lhea

    09 December 2011

    Lhea commented on this recipe

    can anyone tell me if when it says Silverskin Onions does it mean the ones that come in vinegar? thanks

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  • Binder photo Andrea

    22 December 2011

    Andrea rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Awesome!!! I halved all the quantities, after reading the above comments, and was VERY careful to use measured, level tablespoons of cornflour. I followed the recipe very carefully, albeit I used a jar of finest silverskin little onions in white balsamic vinegar (drained weight 204g), and drained the vinegar into a jug and used as part of the vinegar element. I also added an extra couple of heaped spoons of little silverskin onions because it looked like it could take it - I only added the onions at the stage where you add the vinegar and boil, as they're already pickled. I also added one very finely deseeded mild red chillie, and an extra half tablespoon of brown mustard seeds. When I made the sauce, after I'd simmered it, I added an extra scant tablespoon of cornflour (mixed with cold water) and a pinch of salt, and the resulting picallili, even on the first day, after cooling was absolutely divine - highly recommended, just add to your tastes!

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  • Binder photo Andrea

    22 December 2011

    Andrea commented on this recipe

    Oh, incidentally, the halved quantity mix yielded me 6 1/2 jars of 'jam jar size' (i.e. lemon curd, branston pickle, pickled chillie jars etc.!).. I also tested a little piece of vegetable every two minutes after it had reached boiling point, to make sure they didn't lose their crunch, and I only cut mine into barely 1cm dice, as I prefer a smaller cut picallili. GO ON, HAVE A GO!!! It's really easy, and delicious! :)

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Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

5 x 500ml jars

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 20 mins

Cook time

Cook 15 mins

plus salting overnight
Vegetarian

Vegetarian

Ingredients

  • 2 small cauliflower , cut into small florets
  • 400.0g silverskin or pearl onions
  • 600.0g courgettes , cut into small chunks (about 2cm pieces)
  • 6 firm pears , cored, and cut as the courgettes
  • 100.0g salt
  • 1.7l cider vinegar
  • finger-length piece fresh root ginger , grated
  • 2 tbsp coriander seeds
  • 3 tbsp brown or black mustard seeds
  • 300.0g golden caster sugar
  • 8 tbsp cornflour
  • 5 tbsp English mustard powder
  • 3 tsp turmeric
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PER SERVING

31 kcalories, protein 1.0g, carbohydrate 6.0g, fat 0.0 g, saturated fat 1.0g, fibre 0.0g, sugar 5.0g, salt 1.01 g

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