Over Night Pickled Radishes

If you haven't followed me on Instagram, you may not know that I started cooking every Sunday for my family that started a couple of years ago. Over the last weekend, I decided to play with something that I've never made- pulled pork tacos. They were absolutely delicious (watch out for that recipe later in the week). I was first inspired by Giada's taco recipe, but I changed up some of the spices and ingredients so that I came up with a recipe of my own. Okay, enough talk about the tacos, let's focus in on one of the toppings- pickled radishes!

Every cuisine has its own version of the pickle- whether it be Korean kimchi or Chinese daikon radish, to the classic American dill pickle. Pickling vegetables has become popular over the years as an easy way to bring a burst of flavor and color to a dish. In this recipe, I present to you my version of pickled radishes, that can be used on salads, burgers, tacos, and so much more (literally, add them to anything!). These overnight pickled radishes can be made in minutes, and can keep for quite a while, depending on if you want to can them.

Ingredients:

- 1 bunch radishes (if you don't like radishes, you can substitute with virtually any vegetable-- carrots, celery, cauliflower taste great as well)

- 1 part water

- 1 part apple cider vinegar (you can substitute with plain white vinegar)

- 3 cloves of garlic, smashed

- 2 bay leaves

- 1 pinch red pepper flakes (this will not be spicy, but will add flavor-- feel free to add more if you like it spicy)

- 3 pinches of whole black peppercorns

- pinch of salt

- 2 tbsp. of brown sugar

Directions:

What you want to do first is slice up the radishes very thinly. This way, the flavor of the vinegar and spices are stronger. I used a vegetable peeler (kitchen hack to substitute for a mandolin) and a very sharp knife, but if you have a mandolin, by all means, use it. Slice up all of the radishes and place them into a jar. Smash 3 cloves of garlic and throw those in as well. The garlic will perfume the pickles and add another depth of flavor.

Next up, let's make the vinegar brine. In a small saucepan, heat up the vinegar and water on medium low until it comes up to a very low boil. Add in the bay leaves, chili flakes, peppercorns, salt, and sugar and stir until the salt and sugar are dissolved. Take the saucepan off of the heat and set it aside to cool for 5 minutes. After that, pour it into the jar with the radishes and garlic (be careful the liquid is hot!).

Set the jar aside to cool down and then place it in the fridge. Now, enjoy your quick pickled radishes on a plethora of dishes, enjoy!