Pickled rocambole bulbils
Rocambole or Sand leeks (Bendelløk in Norwegian) grow wild around Norway apparently. At least they seem to grow with a spectacularly carefree abandon inside our allotment! One of our neighbours gave us a large bag of bulbils (the teeny bulbs that appear from the flowering bit on the top) and some bulbs, in exchange for a bit of help fixing her greenhouse.
But what to do with them all? Our neighbour mentioned that she pickles them usually, so I thought I'd give it a go.
Kates Bendelløk Pickle Experiment
- Enough bulbs and bulbils to fill a jar (ours was about 500ml). You'll need to remove the outer case from them, I found it easiest to rub them between my hands and then take the tray outside and blow all the papery bits off.
- one cup of white wine vinegar
- 1/2 a cup of water
- 2 small dried chilis
- 2 teaspoons yellow mustard seed
- a small bunch of saffron fronds
add to a pot and bring to a simmer - then add
- 1 tablespoon of honey
- 2 bay leaves
- some lemon peel
Tip the bulbils into a clean, hot (so that it doesn't crack) glass jar and fill with the liquid, cap and leave to cool down. Refrigerate for a week before taste testing.
