A few weeks ago, the pickling cucumbers at the farmers market were so crisp, so petite and so lovely, that I have to admit to going a bit hog wild myself. I raced home and pickled them that very hour.
I had every intention of making garlicky dill pickles, probably with a few big chunks of jalapeno for spice (though not nearly as much as the Death Pickles mentioned above). Unfortunately, as my brine came to a boil on the stove I realized I didn’t have any dill. And so, like some kind of hell-possessed contrarian, I turned to the ridiculous amount of basil I’d brought home from the market. It was a long-shot. I’d never heard of putting basil in pickles before and worried it might go limp and brown in the bottom of the jar as the cucumbers soaked up their vinegar bath. As it turns out, the basil lends a lovely, floral, mildly licoricey flavor to these little guys, proving once again that enough vinegar and salt will fix any mistake.
Click here for this recipe: http://honestcooking.com/pickle-mania-basil-pickles/
