Recipe: Pickled Dilly Carrots and Apricot Butter
Easy-to-make ferments that belong on your next charcuterie board
Fermenting foods is super trendy right now, but it’s also one of the easiest ways to preserve them. These super simple recipes from Joel MacCharles’ new cookbook, Batch are some of the easiest treats you can make and are just begging to be added to your next charcuterie board.
Ingredients
Pickled Dilly Carrots:
- 6-8 medium carrots, peeled and cut into disks
- ¼ cup dill weed or 1 tbsp dried dill seed
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 2 tbsp coarse salt
- Filtered water
- 1 quart standard Mason jar
- Airlock (not required but will yield best results)
Apricot Butter:
- 2 cups dried unsulfured apricots (the sulfur could slow or inhibit fermentation)
- 2 cups apple cider
- ¼ cup raw honey
- 2 tbsp orange juice
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 pint standard-mouth Mason jar, sterilized
- Airlock with number 13 cork
Preparation
For Pickled Dilly Carrots:
Peel the carrots and chop them into ½-inch chunks. Add the dill and garlic to the jar and top with carrots (they won’t float so don’t be worried about packing them in). Add the salt, cover tightly with a lid, and shake to distribute. Top with enough water to make sure everything is submerged. Cover loosely with a clean towel or coffee filter and let sit on your counter overnight.
Taste on day three (and every one or two days after). As with any ferment, check daily and remove any sign of foam or mold. This generally takes five to ten days depending on your taste preference. Keep in mind that this will take less time in a warm room.
Eat after 1 month and within 1 year.
For Apricot Butter:
Combine the apricots and cider in a pot, bring to a simmer, and simmer for 3 minutes. Strain off the fruit (reserving the liquid to drink later). Let the fruit cool enough to handle. Add the apricots, honey, orange juice, and salt to a food processor and pulse into a paste. Pour into the sterilized jar, secure with the airlock, and place on your counter, out of direct sunlight, for two to five days. Cover with the lid and refrigerate.
Eat within 2 months.