When I'm not gobbling up this season's green beans after glazing them with a sweet and spicy sauce, I'm finding delicious ways to preserve them for another day. And at the top of that list is a cleverly pickled version boasting garlic and dried peppers in a brine of white wine and cider vinegar.
While fresh dill is a very common pickling addition, I prefer to omit it in my late season pickles because my dill tends to be past its prime this time of the year and not chopping it for a little jar or two of beans saves me time and effort - both things I have little of just as school's gotten back in session and fall's first leaves are begging to be raked. Instead, a heady combination of chopped garlic, coriander seeds, dried peppers, and peppercorns join trimmed beans and take a glorious bath in a cider vinegar and white wine mixture. The result is a fairly crisp pickle with a complex flavor that can be comfortable in nearly any setting including straight out of the jar for snacking or as a fantastic mixing stick for your next bloody mary!
I like using tall two pint jars for these since my green beans tend to be about that size and then I don't have a lot of trimming to do. Feel free to use a different size or shape of jar — just be sure to tweak the amounts called for in the recipe to make sure your beans get fully covered by the brine. Then, have at it and enjoy your pickled green beans!
Pickled Green Beans
- 10 ounces green beans
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 2 small dried chiles
- ¼ teaspoon black peppercorns
- 2 cups cider vinegar
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons pickling salt
Before you trim the green beans, arrange them vertically in a 2-pint jar to see how many will fit. Pack them in as tightly as you can - they will shrink a bit during the process of pickling, so be generous.
Remove the beans from the jar and trim them to fit, leaving a bit of headspace. Pack the trimmed beans back into the jar.
Peel the garlic and cut it into quarters. Stuff the garlic pieces into the jar with the green beans.
Add the coriander seeds, the dried chiles, and the peppercorns into the jar around the beans.
Place the vinegar, wine, sugar, and salt into a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat and boil for 2 minutes.
Pour the hot mixture over the beans. The liquid should fully and completely cover all of the beans. Screw the lid on tightly and let the jar sit until it has cooled to room temperature.
Once the jar is cool, refrigerate the bean pickles for at least 2 days or up to 6 months before eating. Once the jar is opened, keep it in the refrigerator.
- Yields: 2 pints
- Preparation Time: 20 minutes, plus cooling and refrigerating time