À La Carte: An ode to pickle-y things

Pickle soup, potato salad with olives, white bean "tuna" + more 🧂

Picking up from Tuesday’s zucchini pasta recipe, I’m officially dedicating this week to celebrating the power of pickle-y, briny things. Specifically, I’m talking capers, olives, pickled cucumbers, and marinated roasted red peppers.

These shelf-stable ingredients can transform many a blah dish and I strongly encourage you to keep them stocked in your kitchen.

Olives, for example, offer a “meaty” texture and rich mouthfeel. Capers give you pops of oceanic brininess, hence why they are commonly paired with seafood. Pickles are snappy, juicy, and vinegary. You get the idea. Apart from saltiness, these attributes can add a layer of complexity and excitement to a meal.

Here are 5 recipes from the archives that showcase these ingredients’ special powers.

1. White Bean “Tuna” Salad

This 4-ingredient white bean salad is a plant-based dupe for tuna salad. Chopped dill pickles plus the brine from the jar mimic the deli classic nicely.

2. Warm Potato Salad with Green Beans and Olives

I love a warm [mayo-less] potato salad in the summer and this multi-textural one is extra special. Kalamata olives compliment creamy boiled potatoes perfectly. (Here’s a version with capers too.)

3. Polish Pickle Soup

Ever dream of having a meal that’s almost entirely pickles? This tangy Eastern European classic is for you. The original recipe uses sour cream to enrich the broth, but I’ve gone ahead and swapped it for a bit of coconut milk.

4. Charred Broccoli with Red Pepper Relish

Cast iron-charred broccoli can convert even the biggest broccoli skeptics. The sweet-sour pepper relish with garlic and herbs balances the bitterness of the vegetable perfectly.

5. Mushroom “Scallops” with White Wine-Caper Sauce

When cut into coins, the thick stems of king oyster mushrooms (a.k.a. trumpet mushrooms) make a great stand-in for scallops. Here, they are marinated in a miso brine, seared, and finished with a salty, funky caper sauce.

Planning to make one of these? Tell me how it goes in the comments section or tag me with your creation on Instagram.