Quick Cucumber Mint Pickle

Quick Cucumber Mint Pickle

This was my third-place recipe for Wednesday's Foodie Call at ARL WFM. The ingredient was mint and the challenge was to come up with a recipe, make the recipe and get set up in two hours, and "demo" it--serve it in tiny bites with an attractive display--for another two hours.

While I've watched cooking challenge shows for years, this took the cake--or the cuke. Since I'm customer service, I could use any ingredient from the entire store to cook. Being vegan and gluten-free, and it being summer (tomorrow), I gravitated towards produce.

Going with the tried-and-true beet caraway slaw idea, since I made a fennel-cucumber-kraut slaw a few weeks ago, I figured springtime cukes and slaw could handle the mintage.

Why is it a quick pickle? Because it’s not brined for any length of time. Actually, the entire recipe would benefit from a good sit overnight or up to a week in the fridge to marinate (in glass, please).

Here is the full-capacity recipe; obviously you should scale it to your needs.

Quick Cucumber Mint Pickle

15 cucumbers, sliced thinly (I quartered mine; a food processor would have been handy)

4 bunches of mint, ribboned

2 32-ounce jars of sauerkraut, rinsed

about 2 cups combination of raspberry red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar, and red wine vinegar

1 red onion, diced

Mix all ingredients together in an enormous bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight or up to a week before serving. Serve chilled.

Check it out on my Instagram account, @undead_q:

http://instagram.com/p/awh6ivlR-k/

Why should you eat sauerkraut? It’s a good source of gut-friendly bacteria. Believe me, and if you’re lactose- or gluten-intolerant or have food allergies, you know the importance of a functioning digestive system. Sauerkraut and other fermented veggies help your digestion.

Don’t turn up your nose at the “intense” kraut…the unpasteurized kind exposes you to life in its less-processed form…life as it should be.

Chew on that!

Blueberry series resumes Saturday.