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Spiced Ash Key Pickle
Spiced Ash Key Pickle is a modern British recipe for a pickle of ash key (ash fruit) in a West African flavoured vinegar preserve. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Spiced Ash Key Pickle.
prep time
20 minutes
cook time
85 minutes
Total Time:
95 minutes
Additional Time:
(+maturing)
Makes:
2 jars
Rating: 
Tags : Wild FoodChilli RecipesSpice RecipesBritish Recipes
The
European ash may not be the most obvious source of food for the wild forager. However we have recipes from the 17th and 18th century for preparing 'Ash Key Pickle'. This is the pickled fruit of the ash tree used as a caper substitute. It's likely that ash key pickles have been made for centuries and are a very old form of wild food. One problem, however, is that to be of any use ash keys (the fruit of the ash tree) have to be picked when young and green (basically in early August). They're also very bitter and need to be cooked in several changes of water to make them palatable.
I've never thought of this as a particularly useful ingredient, until this year. My wife is West African and when I introduced her to ash key pickles she went mad for them. The bitterness and the overall taste reminded her of several herbs and spices (eg bitter balls, bitterleaf, generally known as 'country pepper') that she knew from her childhood. So we devised a recipe to make them more palatable to modern tastes and to make them more useful for Fusion-style cooking. The result is this recipe for a spiced ash key pickle.
Method:
Combine the vinegar, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt and West African curry powder in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and immediately take off the heat, setting aside to cool.
Pinch off any stems from the ash keys and wash well. Add to a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Drain the ash keys, replace in the pot and cover with water once again. Once more bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes before draining. Repeat this cooking process twice more.
Once you have drained the ash keys one final time add to the pot once more cover with water and add 2 tbsp salt. Bring the mixture to a boil and continue boiling briskly for 15 minutes. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook gently for an hour. By the end of this time the ash keys should have softened and the majority of their bitterness will have gone.
Now drain the ash keys and return to the pot. Strain the spiced vinegar through a fine sieve lined with muslin or cheesecloth and add the strained vinegar to the pot with the ash keys along with the peppercorns, chillies, mustard seeds and garlic. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
Take off he heat, allow to cool then transfer the ash keys to a sterilized jar that's been baked in an oven pre-heated to 120°C for 20 minutes. Cover with the spiced vinegar, seal and set aside to mature in a cool, dark, cupboard for at least 6 weeks to mature.
The pickle can be served instead of capers with fish. It's can also be used as a flavouring in any West African soup or stew, especially ones that call for bitter ingredients such as bitter balls or bitterleaf.
