Farmhouse Kitchen Recipe: Fermented Radish Salsa

Stephanie Thurow is a Certified Master Food Preserver and cookbook Author from the land of 10,000 lakes, Minnesota.  Stephanie is passionate about teaching others how to preserve the harvest. She specializes in writing easy to understand recipes that put even a novice at ease and she loves teaching hands-on classes around the state (and-soon to-be country). Stephanie is the author of three food preservation cookbooks: Can It & Ferment It, WECK Small-Batch Preserving and now available for pre-order: WECK Home Preserving – coming August 2020. None of Stephanie’s fermented recipes require starter cultures and none of her canned recipes require added pectin, she believes in the heritage methods of preserving food. You can follow Stephanie’s kitchen adventures on here active Instagram account where she shares images and videos of her food preservation escapades or you can subscribe to her blog.

Here is a sneak peak of a recipe that Stephanie adapted from her new cookbook, WECK Home Preserving! FYI, WECK jars are a 100+ year old brand of European canning jars. Though Stephanie’s books are made for the jars, all recipes can be made with standard American home canning jars.

Fermented Radish Salsa

This salsa is delicious immediately after mixed together but gets prettier and more flavorful after fermentation. Many that are not fond of radishes in the raw form, indeed enjoy them fermented as the flavor dulls somewhat. I urge you to try this salsa even if radishes aren’t on the top of your list. Use this salsa as you would any other salsa; over eggs, with corn chips, over tacos, etc.

Yield: 1 Pint

1 bundle red radishes, chopped (about 1.5 cups prepared)

¼ cup scallions – white and green sections, thinly sliced (about 2 scallions)

¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

½ jalapeno, finely diced

1 tsp. kosher salt

Dash black pepper (optional)

Prepare all ingredients and mix them together in a large glass or nonreactive bowl. Pack the mixture into a jar. It may take until the next day for the ferment to produce enough brine to submerge the radishes, so don’t be alarmed if initially they aren’t submerged.

Ferment at room temperature, ideally between 60-75°F (15 to 23°C) and keep out of direct sunlight. Fermentation duration is between 5-7 days, though the salsa is delicious immediately after mixing together. One sign that the ferment is “done” is when the brine becomes pink. Taste test after day 5. Once the ideal flavor is reached, store the jar in the refrigerator with the brine. This ferment will last nearly indefinitely, though the texture and flavors will continue to change as fermentation does not stop once refrigerated, it’s just slowed way down.

Enjoy!

Stephanie

Blog: www.minnesotafromscratch.com

Instagram: @MinnesotafromScratch

Twitter: @StephLovestoCan

Facebook: www.facebook.com/MinnesotafromScratch

Recipe published with permission from Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.