Recipe for Green Beans and Wax Beans Pickled With Horseradish

As part of the most recent baskets, the Accidental Locavore had a lot of beans, both green and wax. Since it was a little cold for a Salad Nicoise, and I was in a pickling mood, I put up the beans with a recipe from an earlier Food and Wine. The recipe is really easy, no cooking involved, and you don’t need any canning equipment, just some one pint jars. It’s also a good way to take advantage of the last of the dill and tarragon in the garden. The recipe says the beans are good after 24 hours, however they weren’t. Be patient and give them a week for the flavors to develop.

For 4 pint jars of beans:

• 4 pint jars (run them through the dishwasher to prep them)
• 1 1/2 pounds of beans (I made 1 jar of wax, and 2 of green, you can also mix them)
• 8 cloves of garlic, cut in half (4 halves for each jar)
• 8 sprigs of dill (two for each jar)
• 4 tarragon sprigs (one for each jar)
• 4 teaspoons black peppercorns (one for each jar)
• 4 teaspoons horseradish (one for each jar) (loving heat, I used the hot horseradish)
• 1 1/2 cups white vinegar
• 1/4 cup kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 1/2 cups water

Trim the stem ends of the beans so they fit in the jars. Pack them into the jars, tip side down. Each jar also gets two sprigs of dill, one sprig of tarragon, 4 garlic halves, a teaspoon of peppercorns, and a teaspoon of horseradish. In a large jar, or mixing bowl (I used a very large measuring cup), combine the vinegar, salt and sugar. Shake or stir until the sugar and salt is fully dissolved. Add the water, and mix. Pour over the jars until they are completely full. The beans need to be completely submerged. Cover and refrigerate. You can eat them after a day in the fridge, but give them a week, and you’ll be glad you did. They should keep in the fridge for 3 months. Enjoy!