Quick-Pickled Samphire
Here’s the trouble with pickling samphire. When you do the full-on pickle thing with boiling brine, the emerald tendrils turn toady green and mushy, and they taste just like any other pickle. (In other words: What’s the point?)
Quick-pickling is the way to go. I use a cold brine of half water, half vinegar (no salt - the samphire’s salty enough) to keep the samphire from going soggy. This method also lets it maintain its bright green color for about an hour. After that, it turns a duller more pickle-y green, but it’s still far tastier and more attractive than actually pickling the samphire.
Ingredients:
2 cups fresh samphire
¾ cup clear vinegar, such as cider, sherry, white wine, or champagne
¾ cup cold water
1 Tbs. pink peppercorns
pinch of sugar
Instructions:
Cook the samphire in a medium pot of boiling water 30 seconds. Drain, and shock (cool) in a bowl of ice water. Drain again, and transfer to a small bowl.
Add the remaining ingredients, cover, and refrigerate 15 minutes. Serve immediately, or and store in the fridge up to 1 week.
