Sometimes I'm kinda slow. I've always loved the spicy pickled carrots they serve at Mexican restaurants. (I believe the dish is called escabeche in Spanish.) But even though I've been really into making sauerkraut, dill pickles, kimchi, etc. for years it never occurred to me to make the Mexican style until a few months ago.
Hokey smokes! What is wrong with me?
Since I started, these have become a daily
staple, only getting better with some trial and error. So I thought I'd share how I'm doing it. Sorry for imprecise measurements, but that's how I cook.
I start with roughly equal weights of carrots, radish and onion cut into chunks that look bite-sized. You could do it without the radishes or vary the ratios, but keep the onion to no more than a third of the total.
Per pound of veggies, I add 4-5 cloves of garlic, a couple sliced jalapeños, a small handful of cilantro, the juice of a quarter lime, and 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of fine sea salt.
I mix all the ingredients then put them in quart Mason jars, loosely packed (not jammed in like sauerkraut) with at least an inch of headspace, usually a little more. Then I add filtered
water to about a half inch above the vegetables.
I have a pickling crock, but I like the simplicity of pickling in the jars. I put canning lids and rings on, loose
enough for fermenting gas to escape. I put the jars on a shelf in the kitchen for 4-5 days. A couple times a day as I'm walking by, for each jar I tighten the lid, turn the jar over and shake it, then put it back in place upright with the lid loosened. That mixes things up, but more important it keeps mold from forming on any of the vegetables that float to the top.
Then when they are ready, enjoy!
I'd love to know variations on this others are making.
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