Quick pickled cucumbers with dill and coriander

Another great speedy, small-batch pickling project!

I love making quick pickles. All you need are small amounts of produce and seasonings plus a couple of clean jars. No sterilizing, no hot water bath processing – just make the pickles, pop them in the fridge and they’re ready to eat in a day, although the flavour continues to improve if you can wait up to a week. I cannot stop making my pickled apple slices but wanted to change things up a little, especially now that I have a huge crop of fresh dill in my garden.  You can make these pickles with just the delicate fronds of the dill plant if you want a milder flavour, or use the seed heads for an extra dilly kick. The crushed coriander seeds add a lovely bright, almost lemony touch to the cucumber slices. These pickles would be great on burgers or sandwiches, or even as part of an antipasti platter. This recipe makes quite tangy pickles so if you prefer yours sweeter, add another tablespoon or two of sugar.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (250 mL) cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) water
• 3 tablespoons (45 mL) white sugar
• 1 tablespoon (15 mL) kosher or coarse sea salt
• 4 teaspoons coriander seeds, crushed
• 1 to 1.5 large English Cucumbers
• generous handful dill sprigs
• 1 tablespoon (15 mL) thinly sliced sweet onion or shallot

Method

• Combine vinegar, water, sugar, salt and crushed coriander seeds in a small non-reactive saucepan.
• Over medium heat, warm the mixture, stirring occasionally, just until sugar and salt have dissolved.
• Transfer the mixture to a clean measuring cup and refrigerate to bring it down to a lukewarm temperature.
• While brine is cooling, thinly slice the cucumber.
• Pack the cucumber, dill and shallot evenly among three 10 oz (295 mL) jars.
• Pour the cooled brine over the cucumber and seasonings, using a spoon to distribute the crushed coriander evenly.
• If you don’t have quite enough brine (depending on how tightly you’ve packed the jars with cucumber slices, shallots and dill), mix together 2 parts cider vinegar to 1 part water and top up the jars with that mixture.
• Put the lids on the jars and refrigerate for at least 24 hours before eating.
• Store quick pickles in the fridge and consume within three weeks of when you made them.

Makes three 10 ounce (295 mL) jars.