Broccoli Stem Pickles

Dylan got me an all-vegetable cookbook for Christmas, and I immediately gravitated toward this recipe. Making the best food in the world, pickles, out of something that usually gets thrown away? I had to try it.

The book is The Vegetable Dishes I Can’t Live Without by Molly Katzen. I love illustrated books and I love vegetables, so this was pretty much the perfect gift. There’s a pretty painted cluster of veggies on the cover, and black and white drawings throughout.

Here’s the recipe. You need at least 4 good broccoli stems, a tablespoon of light-colored honey, 1/2 cup of hot water, and 1/3 cup seasoned rice vinegar.

This is how much I used, which ended up being just a tad too much to fill a medium-sized jar. Trim and peel the stems, and then cut them into smaller piece.

The recipe said to cut 1/8″ thick, matchstick sized pieces, but I didn’t want to make them that small. I want my pickled broccoli like I want my pickled cucumbers. After they’re cut up, place in boiling water and lower heat to a simmer for 1-2 minutes. This’ll soften them just a bit. Drain in cold water.

This is what you need for the brine. Place the tablespoon of honey into a big bowl and add the hot water. Dissolve the honey into the water and then add the rice vinegar. Mix in the broccoli stalks and let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before transferring into the jar and refrigerating.

That’s it! We added some garlic and red pepper flakes at the last minute because you can’t really go wrong there. Since I cut thicker slices, the pickling will take longer than the recipe calls for (minimum of 4 hrs). After a few days these should be ready to eat.