Turmeric Escabeche
Iain Bagwell
In Mexico, escabeche, or pickle, often refers to the spicy, crisp vegetable pickle you’ll find in most taco bars. It nearly always has cauliflower, jalapeños, onion, and carrots; Donnie Masterton, chef at TacoLab by Tacolicious, in San Miguel de Allende, adds a few more. He also infuses the pickling liquid with a jolt of turmeric, giving the pickle a subtle earthiness and bright golden glow. It’s delicious with anything fried, cheesy, or salty.
How to Make It
1
Put all pickling-liquid ingredients plus 2 1/3 cups water into a large pot and bring to a boil, covered. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until salt and sugar is dissolved. Let cool and settle.
2
Line a colander with cheesecloth, set it over a large bowl, and slowly pour in liquid, leaving most of turmeric sediment behind in pot.
3
Mix vegetables in a large nonreactive bowl, then divide between 2 qt-size wide-mouth mason jars. Bring pickling liquid to a simmer and pour over the vegetables, again leaving any turmeric sediment behind. Chill 24 hours before using. Serve in a bowl, with some of the liquid included.
Make ahead: Up to 1 month, chilled.
Ingredients
Pickling Liquid
¼ cup turmeric
2 ⅔ cups distilled white vinegar
⅓ cup each sugar and kosher salt
2 bay leaves
1 tsp black peppercorns
4 tsp coriander seeds, toasted
Vegetables
½ head cauliflower, cut into small florets
2 ½ oz green beans, stemmed and cut into ½-in. pieces
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 2-in. matchsticks
2 jalapeños, sliced in rings with seeds
10 grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise
2 ½ oz white onion, cut into ¼-in. dice
2 garlic cloves, sliced
Directions
1
Put all pickling-liquid ingredients plus 2 1/3 cups water into a large pot and bring to a boil, covered. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until salt and sugar is dissolved. Let cool and settle.
2
Line a colander with cheesecloth, set it over a large bowl, and slowly pour in liquid, leaving most of turmeric sediment behind in pot.
3
Mix vegetables in a large nonreactive bowl, then divide between 2 qt-size wide-mouth mason jars. Bring pickling liquid to a simmer and pour over the vegetables, again leaving any turmeric sediment behind. Chill 24 hours before using. Serve in a bowl, with some of the liquid included.
Make ahead: Up to 1 month, chilled.
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