Ask someone if they want chocolate cake, chances are they’ll say: “Ya-huh!”
Ask someone if they want a pickled wax bean, their reaction may not be so kind. I learned this the hard way after making a jar of pickled yellow wax beans from the Park Slope farmer’s market a few weeks ago. The recipe comes from Chez Panisse Vegetables, a book that proves to be an excellent resource in summer when vegetables are plentiful at farmer’s markets and you don’t know what to do with them. Case in point? Yellow wax beans. It was from this book that I got the idea to pickle them.
And you know what? Even though most guests balked at the opportunity to try one, that was better for me because I am now a pickled yellow wax bean convert. They are terrific. Why are they so terrific? They’re pickled in cider vinegar, which makes them punchy, fruity, and intense and the other aromatics–garlic, a red chile–only heighten the experience. Plus, they’re incredibly easy to make. You just stick the beans in a jar (that you’ve cleaned and boiled) and pour over boiling cider vinegar. That’s it. See? Isn’t that easy? Chocolate cake isn’t so easy.
And chocolate cake isn’t good for you. And these are–so make them and then keep them all to yourself. Or offer them to others, but don’t be insulted when they say “no.”
Pickled Yellow Wax Beans
From Chez Panisse Vegetables
1/2 pound yelow wax beans
2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon coriander seed
1 small hot chili
1/8 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
2 cups white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
1 cup dry white wine [I didn’t have white wine, so I just used more cider vinegar and that was fine!]
1 1/4 cups water
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons sugar
Top and tail the beans and put them in a nonreactive container (I used a jar that I cleaned and then boiled.) Peel the garlic cloves and cut them in half. Add the garlic to the beans along with the coriander seed, chili, peppercorns and bay leaf.
Put the vinegar, white wine, water, salt, and sugar in a saucepan, bring to a boil, and boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and pour over the beans. Cool completely at room temperature, cover, and refirgerate. The beans will be ready to eat in 48 hours but are even better after a week.
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I love pickling all sorts of things. You can add vinegar to sliced cucumbers, pork loin, etc.
Nice depth of field in that photo. :)
I LOVE pickled beans. I’m glad I’m not the only one. When I make them people turn their noses up but they just don’t know what they are missing out on.
I pretty much love pickled ANYTHING. and i might be that weird person who would go for the pickled wax beans over the chocolate cake. Do you think this recipe would work with other veggies like beets, or are they too dense? pickled okra is also pretty amazing. my mouth is watering….
People balked at pickled wax beans?! The minute I saw “pickled wax beans” I wished I could reach through the screen and nab one :(
Wow i really want to make these. Now i’m praying that they have yellow wax beans when I go to the grocery store.
Thanks for the recipe :)
Wow i really want to make these. Now i’m praying that they have yellow wax beans when I go to the grocery store. After having pickled okra, and pickled cucumbers, and pickled salads, i think there’s a lot of things that could be pickled that i didn’t think of before.
And isn’t it awful that people balk at something like beans before they’ve even tried it. So mundane these people are :P
Thanks for the recipe :)
Bloody Mary anyone? Love me some pickled beans in a bloody mary, yum!
I want to be your friend. Someone gave me picked beans a couple of years ago as a housewarming gift, and we ate nearly the entire jar in the kitchen, guarding it from interlopers…ok, we shared. Pickled beans are Da Bomba. So is your book, which I read this weekend while visiting another friend.
I want to be your friend. Someone gave me picked beans a couple of years ago as a housewarming gift, and we ate nearly the entire jar in the kitchen, guarding it from interlopers…ok, we shared. Pickled beans are Da Bomba. So is your book, which I read this weekend while visiting another friend.
My mom used to pickle green string beans. When I was a kid, and I first saw them, I thought it was weird, too. But it didn’t take me too long to love eating them. Yum.
Now I’m nostalgic AND hungry…
MRKH
What Kathy said – right on sistah!
But, what do you serve them with? Or, should I say, *how* do you serve them?
My mom makes pickled green beans every year. We call them “dilly beans.” She snaps off the ends and leaves them long otherwise, packs them tightly down in a jar with a head of fresh dill, garlic and hot pepper. They are crunchy and delicious, just like pickles! My brother-in-law can eat a whole jar of dilly beans in one sitting.
Miriam, all you do with them is eat them like pickles. They are fantastic on a relish tray with olives and other finger foods.
I’ve never had a wax dilly bean. I’ll bet those are awesome.
I love pickled beans! They’re especially amazing used in place of olives in a dirty Hendricks martini. Thank you so much for this post, I hadn’t realized they were so simple to make!
Ah HA! I saw wax beans at the farmer’s market today and hurried home to make a double patch of these pickles. The beans with all the aromatics in the jars smelled SO good, and I’m excited for 48 hours from now when I can dip into them for a crunchy briny snack. YUM. Thanks for the idea.
These are just MADE for bloody marys!!!
I live in Sonoma county california…and you are right there is a plethera of good things being harvested right now. My family laughs at me because my newest obsession is “pickling.” I have fermented dills…preserved bread and butters…am currently fermenting saurkraut(sooo easy by the way)…and just did beans yesterday. My recipe says to hold them for 3 weeks before eating them…so I can’t WAIT to see how they turn out!! Happy pickling to you!!
Has anyone processed the beans with this recipe?
I am looking for Pickled yellow bean recipe that places a copper penny in the jar to make the beans crisp and crunchy Keeps in refridgerator.Help