Salad of Pickled Vegetables, Pickled Nectarine + Lemon Ginger Vinaigrette

Pickled Vegetables:  

1 cup              apple cider vinegar

1 cup              white vinegar

2 cup              water

2 TB                salt

2 tsp               sugar

1 tsp              peppercorns

1 tsp              fennel seeds

1                    small shallot, smashed

1                    small beet

1/4                 small fennel bulb

3                    small organic carrots (the little ones!)

1                    nectarine

1/4                 daikon radish

-Bring the liquids and spices to a boil with the shallot. Pull off the heat and allow to cool off just a bit.

-Quarter or half the beet. Slice the daikon, nectarine, and fennel into thin slices. Cut the carrots lengthwise. I like to use a vegetable peeler to get different types of vegetable cuts. You can cut some with a knife and shave some with a peeler. For this salad I pickled the hand cut ones and kept the peeler ribboned ones unpickled.

-Divide the vegetables into small bowls, reserving a few pieces of each to keep aside unpickled (an entire salad pickled is a bit intense!), and pour the hot pickling liquid over the remaining vegetables submerging each completely.

-Allow the vegetables to sit at room temperature until the liquid is cooled, and then place each in the fridge to chill and crisp up.

-To create a pink pickled daikon radish: transfer the previously pickled daikon slices to the pickling juices from the beets, and refrigerate.

Salad Greens + Lemon Ginger Vinaigrette:

handful          greens, whatever you want. Arugula, dandelion, etc.

1/3 cup          olive oil

1.5 TB            lemon juice

1 TB               apple cider vinegar

1 tsp              sugar (and/or more to taste)

1.5 tsp            salt (and/or more to taste)

few turns        black pepper from peppermill

2 tsp               fresh ginger, grated/minced

-Shake all of the ingredients together in a mason jar with the lid fastened tightly, then drizzle a little over the salad greens and toss to coat.

-Plate the salad greens intermixed with both the pickled and unpickled vegetables, and drizzle over a little more vinaigrette.