- 600g runner beans, trimmed and chopped into small (roughly 1cm) pieces
- 200g onions, chopped into small (roughly 1cm) pieces
- 200g sweetcorn kernels, tinned (drained) or frozen is fine
- 3 tbsp flaky sea salt
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 tbsp black mustard seeds
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tbsp English mustard powder
- ½ tsp garlic granules
- 3 tbsp cornflour
- 500ml Aspall cyder vinegar
- 200g granulated sugar
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 eating apple, cored and grated
Runner Bean Piccalilli
A RECIPE BY KATHY SLACK
Makes 3–4 × 450g jars
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Prep time: 60 minutes
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Cooking time: 30 minutes
Runner beans, especially pickled, always remind me of traditional allotmenteers who always know best, and their ‘Dig for Victory’ spirit. This piccalilli is for them. I salute them and their growing commitment, in all their belligerence and stubbornness; stuck in their ways and certain in their rightness. Yes, they might be old curmudgeons who roll their eyes when you talk about biodynamic gardening methods, but boy, can they grow a runner bean.
Extracted from From The Veg Patch by Kathy Slack (Ebury Press, £25).
Photography by Kathy Slack.
- 600g runner beans, trimmed and chopped into small (roughly 1cm) pieces
- 200g onions, chopped into small (roughly 1cm) pieces
- 200g sweetcorn kernels, tinned (drained) or frozen is fine
- 3 tbsp flaky sea salt
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 tbsp black mustard seeds
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tbsp English mustard powder
- ½ tsp garlic granules
- 3 tbsp cornflour
- 500ml Aspall cyder vinegar
- 200g granulated sugar
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 eating apple, cored and grated
- Sterilise your jars and lids before you start. To do this, I run them through the dishwasher on a hot cycle, then put them on a baking tray in the oven – preheated to 120°C/100°C fan/gas mark ½ – for 10 minutes. It’s best if you can fill warm jars with hot piccalilli, so time this accordingly and aim to put your jars in the oven as you start toasting the spices.
- In a large bowl, mix together the runner beans, onions, sweetcorn and salt, and pour over enough water to just cover them. Leave for 1 hour. This helps to keep the colour bright, the veg crunchy and the flavours balanced.
- Toast the cumin and coriander seeds in a dry frying pan over a medium heat for 3–5 minutes until their aroma fills the kitchen. Grind to a coarse powder in a pestle and mortar.
- Dust off your maslin pan – jam pan – if you have one, or a large, heavy-based saucepan if not, and set it over a low heat. Add the sunflower oil and warm through, then tip in the ground cumin and coriander seeds, together with the black mustard seeds, turmeric, mustard powder, garlic granules and cornflour. Cook gently for a couple of minutes, stirring all the while.
- Gradually add 4 tablespoons of water, stirring as you do so, to form a thick, garish yellow paste. Pour in the vinegar, again, gradually to keep the mixture from going lumpy, then add the sugar and bay leaves. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Once smooth, bring to a gentle bubble and leave to thicken, which it will do within a few minutes.
- Drain the salted vegetables and rinse them well under cold running water, then drain again very thoroughly. Add them to the pan with the grated apple and mix well. Bring to the boil for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat. Spoon the mixture into the warm, sterilised jars (leave the bay leaves in), making sure there are no air bubbles, and screw the lids on.
- Once the jars have cooled, you will need to tighten the lids again, then store them in a cool, dark place (the back of a cupboard would be perfect) for at least a month before eating. The spices will infuse into the beans and the flavours will become richer and more rounded, until they call from the cupboard to be piled onto fresh bread with a hunk of ham and eaten. Once open, keep in the fridge and eat within a month or so.
ingredients
method
- Sterilise your jars and lids before you start. To do this, I run them through the dishwasher on a hot cycle, then put them on a baking tray in the oven – preheated to 120°C/100°C fan/gas mark ½ – for 10 minutes. It’s best if you can fill warm jars with hot piccalilli, so time this accordingly and aim to put your jars in the oven as you start toasting the spices.
- In a large bowl, mix together the runner beans, onions, sweetcorn and salt, and pour over enough water to just cover them. Leave for 1 hour. This helps to keep the colour bright, the veg crunchy and the flavours balanced.
- Toast the cumin and coriander seeds in a dry frying pan over a medium heat for 3–5 minutes until their aroma fills the kitchen. Grind to a coarse powder in a pestle and mortar.
- Dust off your maslin pan – jam pan – if you have one, or a large, heavy-based saucepan if not, and set it over a low heat. Add the sunflower oil and warm through, then tip in the ground cumin and coriander seeds, together with the black mustard seeds, turmeric, mustard powder, garlic granules and cornflour. Cook gently for a couple of minutes, stirring all the while.
- Gradually add 4 tablespoons of water, stirring as you do so, to form a thick, garish yellow paste. Pour in the vinegar, again, gradually to keep the mixture from going lumpy, then add the sugar and bay leaves. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Once smooth, bring to a gentle bubble and leave to thicken, which it will do within a few minutes.
- Drain the salted vegetables and rinse them well under cold running water, then drain again very thoroughly. Add them to the pan with the grated apple and mix well. Bring to the boil for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat. Spoon the mixture into the warm, sterilised jars (leave the bay leaves in), making sure there are no air bubbles, and screw the lids on.
- Once the jars have cooled, you will need to tighten the lids again, then store them in a cool, dark place (the back of a cupboard would be perfect) for at least a month before eating. The spices will infuse into the beans and the flavours will become richer and more rounded, until they call from the cupboard to be piled onto fresh bread with a hunk of ham and eaten. Once open, keep in the fridge and eat within a month or so.
