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Ploughman's Pickle

Ploughman's Pickle is a traditional British recipe for a classic dark pickle of diced vegetables and dates in a spiced vinegar base that is the traditional accompaniment to a Ploughman's Lunch. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Ploughman's Pickle.

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

120 minutes

Total Time:

140 minutes

Serves:

12–15

Rating:

Tags : Vegetable RecipesBritish Recipes

This is a firm British favourite that's served as part of the 'traditional' Ploughman's lunch. It also goes very well with the Traditional Pork Pie. Although called a 'pickle' this is really a spiced chutney with fruit and vegetables. Chutney itself, is an English version of the Hindi word 'chatni', pronounced as chutni. The word 'chatna' means 'to lick' and represents the lip-smacking sound made on eating something tasty. The original Indian chatni is a mix of uncooked fruit (raw mango/apple/other fruits), green chillies, herbs like coriander and mint, a few spices, lemon or vinegar or tamarind, sometimes sugar, all ground together to make a paste. In Britain and the West this original idea was adapted to mean a spicy preserve/condiment, where fruit or vegetables have been cooked in vinegar, with spices and sugar, and then bottled.

Ingredients:

270g carrots, peeled and cut into small, 0.5cm dice
1 medium swede, cut into 0.5cm dice
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
130g dates, finely chopped
1 medium cauliflower, finely chopped
2 onions, finely chopped
2 apples, finely chopped
2 unpeeled courgettes, finely chopped
15 sweet gherkins, finely chopped
225g Muscovado sugar
1 tsp salt
60ml lemon juice
360ml malt vinegar
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp cayenne pepper
a few drops of gravy browning (basically burnt sugar dissolved in water)

Method:

Combine all the ingredients (except the gravy browning) in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and continue cooking until the swede is cooked though (about 100 minutes). Add enough of the gravy browning so that the mixture becomes a very dark brown.

Spoon the hot mixture into sterilized jars that have been warmed in an oven pre-heated to 110°C for 10 minutes. Then seal and leave for at least a month to allow the flavours to develop before serving.