A piccallili question??

memorygirl

Mum revealed to me this afternoon that one of her memories of her uncle when she was a kid was of cycling 3 miles to deliver a flask of homemade soup to him on a saturday afternoon (unmarried uncle obviously:D )

In return he used to make her a piccallili sandwich as a thank-you. Homemade picallili made by another of her aunties.

Found the recipe in gramma's old ledger -and thought I could make her some for Christmas as a suprise. But heres the question ................

Recipe calls for silverskin onions and gherkins as well as some other veggies. Now the usual stuff I can source, but neither MrT's, Lidl or the local fruiterer has got the other two.

Can I use instead already pickled baby onions and gherkins? I think if they are cooked in the mustard sauce and then sealed in the jar as normal they would be OK?

Hope someone has the answer because she is away for a couple of days this week and I could make it then.

Many thanks

Memorygirl

Bongedone

They may get too soft if you re-cook them. I have seen gherkins at ASDA.

Can you post the recipe. I made the one from the Mail last week. Not sure what it tastes like yet.

MRSMCAWBER

hi there

My mum makes this and you can use baby onions or chunks of onion...and courgette in place of gherkins...

Debt_Free_Chick

Silverskin onions you can usually buy with the "cocktail" ingredients, like the lemon slices. Can't remember if this is, oddly, in the home baking section in Sainsbury

But they've been "processed" so I would stir them in at the end. Ditto with the gherkins - these are tiny pickled dill-cucumbers. A couple of spoons of capers added before you bottle the picallili is a nice touch

thriftmonster

I would use small picling onions instead of the silverskin and batons of cucumber instead of gherkins.

memorygirl

You guys are stars - I now have all my veggies soaking in the salty brine and I've used your advice to use courgette instead a gherkins.

I've got some silverskin pickled onions and will stir them in at the end once everything is cooked in the mustard sauce so that they don't go mushy.

Can't wait to see her face when this appears in her stocking on Christmas morning

Memorygirl

Debt_Free_Chick

Home-made picallili - like many home-made things - really is the King!!!

Do test the sauce regularly so you get the mix of sweet & tart that you want. And do watch the consistency of the sauce as I've found that it doesn't thicken when stored, so you need it right before you bottle it.

Another job for next weekend ....for me !!

MRSMCAWBER

Hi there

I love my mums tickabilly as its called in our house... it doesn't go all sloppy-great big lumps mmm.. and as a special treat she also does just the sauce... no lumps..great on a sandwich when you don't want great big chunks. You used to be able to buy it i think in the co-op many moons ago..but i haven't seen it in years - so mum makes it..

Debt_Free_Chick

MRSMCAWBER wrote: »

and as a special treat she also does just the sauce... no lumps..great on a sandwich when you don't want great big chunks.

Now there's a thought. Put some picallili through a processor or blender for a great spread on a beef or ham sandwich .... or on its own as a "sandwich spread" :T :j

MRSMCAWBER

Hi there

My mum doesn't even put the veg in ....she just makes the sauce and cooks it out and bottles it...:drool: ...must get her to make me some more ..now im thinking of it again:D