Pickled Broccoli Stalks – Waste Not Want Not

I have previously written about Mr Tiffin’s adoration of broccoli and the mounds that are eaten in our house every week. To deal with the excess stalks, I shared a clever idea for making a thrifty Broccoli Soup from stalks straight out of the freezer. With the weather warming up though, I decided I needed a soup alternative. Pickled Broccoli Stalks seemed like a plan.

When I first came up with the idea of Pickled Broccoli Stalks, I thought about using standard pickled vegetable techniques involving pickling and bottling in a water bath. I realised fairly quickly that this was a whole lot of effort for a relatively small batch of pickled vegetables. So instead, I took my cue for pickled broccoli stalks from Asian quick pickles. This style of quick pickle is simple to make but doesn’t have the keeping qualities of vegetables that are preserved in a heavy brine. Having said that, the large jar of pickled broccoli stalks kept well enough in the fridge for a couple of weeks until they were finished.

The pickled broccoli stalks are fresh and crunchy, perfect for a salad plate or a pick me up on a rich dish. The pickling liquid leans towards salty rather than sweet but if you’d like it a little sweeter, you can add some more sugar. This is a great recipe when you only have a small batch of broccoli stalks, or even carrots or radishes that you wish to quick pickle. As with my other pickle recipes, the key to success is well sterilised jars. Follow this link to my recipe for Blood Orange Marmalade and head to the bottom of the post to read more about how you can sterilise jars in the dishwasher or microwave.

Pickled Broccoli Stalks

Ingredients

• 4 large broccoli stalks
• 2 x cups water
• 2 x tbsp sugar
• 1 x tbsp salt
• 2 x tbsp cider or rice vinegar

Method

1. Place all ingredients except broccoli into a small saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve sugar and salt. Once mixture comes to the boil, turn off heat and set aside.
2. Whilst pickling mixture is cooling, slice broccoli stalks into match sticks and place into a sterilised jar that will fit all of the chopped broccoli.
3. Pour pickling mixture over broccoli stalks, giving jar a gentle tap to release air bubbles. Fill jar with liquid, all the way to the top.
4. Seal jar and place in fridge for 2-3 days to allow broccoli to lightly pickle before you use. Will last up to 3 weeks.
5. Serve as you would pickled onions, pickled ginger or other relishes.

Makes 1 jar

For larger batches, increase the volume of pickling mixture however make sure the ratios remain the same. Do remember though that these are ‘fresh pickles, meant to be consumed in weeks rather than over months.

*Looking for Broccoli or other ingredients to pickle? You can support Aussie Farmers via this affiliate link to Aussie Farmers Direct. Have 100% Australian produce & groceries delivered to your door. I will receive a small commission (at no extra cost to you) from any purchases made via the link.