Mustard Pickle Recipe for when you don't know what to do with all that stuff from the garden!

This is an excellent pickle for using up surplus courgettes, cucumbers, onions and beans from the garden. It is my adaptation of an Australian recipe in the book, 'Perfect Preserves' by Joan Wilson. Hence, the amounts are in cups but this makes the preparation much quicker anyway.

Mustard Pickles

Makes about five jars

2 cups peeled chopped cucumber

2 cups chopped onions

2 cups small courgettes chopped

2 cups of sliced runner beans or green beans

As long as I have 8 cups of veg, I make this in any combination and small florets of broccoli or cauliflower can make up the amount.

3/4 cup salt

5 cups water

2 1/2 cups malt vinegar

1/2 cup plain flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 tsp mustard powder

1 tsp turmeric 

1/4 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp chilli powder

1/2 cup water

Put all the veg in a large ceramic bowl and sprinkle the salt over before adding the five cups of water. Cover and leave overnight. When you are ready to make the mustard sauce, sterilise the jars. Strain the veg, rinse and then drain thoroughly.

Mix together all the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Add the 1/2 cup of water and blend into a paste. Measure the vinegar into a large pan, stir in the mustard mixture and heat gently so that that it boils and thickens as you stir. Stir in the vegetables and heat until the mixture returns to a boil. Remove from heat and put into the hot jars. Cover the jars until the pickles have cooled, then seal jars. 

This is tasty and crisp and is even good to eat in a sandwich on its own. I cannot always keep up with consumption and hide some of the pickles so there are some to eat at Christmas!