"aem" > wrote in message
...
> These were given as a garnish for the Bloody Mary recipe I linked to
> earlier from the L.A. Times. For those with a backyard harvest or a
> good farmers' market, these also look like a great refrigerator
> munchie even if you're skipping the drinks.
>
> Spicy pickled green beans
>
> 1 pound green beans, trimmed
>
> 1 cup red wine vinegar
> 1/2 cup cider vinegar
> 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
> 2 tablespoons mustard seeds
> 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
> 2 tablespoons salt
> 1 tablespoon sugar
> 2 teaspoons fennel seeds
> 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
> 8 garlic cloves, chopped
> 8 fresh dill sprigs, chopped
> 4 bay leaves
>
> 1. Boil the beans until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain and cool
> in a bowl of ice water. Drain and set aside in a shallow baking dish.
>
> 2. In a medium saucepan, combine remaining ingredients and bring to a
> boil. Cook for 1 minute, stir to dissolve the sugar and salt.
>
> 3. Pour the vinegar solution over the beans to cover completely.
> Marinate, refrigerated for at least 24 hours. The beans will keep
> refrigerated for 3 to 4 weeks.
>
> Note on the last two sentences: it's not clear to me whether you
> drain the beans before storing them for the longer term, or store them
> in the pickling juice. Which would you do? -aem
>

I didn't read the recipe all the way through, and so missed the part about
the baking dish.

What I would do is skip the part where they cook the beans. I would wash and
trim them, and put stand them up in the tall, slim variety of canning jar
that hold 12 ounces, among which I had previously distributed the spices,
garlic, and herbs. Bring the vinegars. sugar and salt to a boil and pour
over the beans in the jar leaving 1/4 head space. Put lids and screw tops on
the jars, and move them to a canning pot half filled with boiling water.
Fill with more boiling water until the jars are submerged by 2 " or more,
and process at a rolling boil for 5 minutes. Remove to a rack to cool, and
let mellow for a couple of weeks. They will last a long time and do not need
to be refrigerated. They will also be quite crisp.