Make a delicious Chow Chow, marinated vegetable relish, out of your summer vegetables. It is perfect for vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, low calorie and low fat diets.
Towards the end of last summer, one of my neighbors brought me a bonanza of summer vegetables from her Brother’s garden. Oh, it was the best gift someone ever gave me. There were a large amount of delicious, ripe veggies just crying to be eaten. There were so many I wasn’t sure how we would get through them all before they went bad. So I set about making something that would stretch out their life a little.
Since we live in the South, Chow Chow came to mind. It was on all the restaurant menus last year and since I have a sweet spot for marinated vegetables I decided to give it a try. Man, oh man, I did not have to worry about all these veggies going bad. The Chow Chow was so good, I was throwing it on everything; sandwiches, salads, fish, chicken, eggs. It did not last long.
So Chow Chow is simply a marinated vegetable relish that is on the tangy side. Every region probably has it’s own name for it. It is definitely not a new dish. People have been doing this for hundreds of years to preserve their veggies. It was absolutely, positively worth making. You can use any mix of vegetables which you want. I used the glorious vegetables that my neighbor brought us. The bag was filled with cucumbers, eggplant, tomatoes, peppers and onions. I threw them all in. I usually don’t like green peppers but I did enjoy them in this tangy, slightly sweet concoction.
As for the spices, I used my favorite, fennel seed. Mustard seed is pretty traditional so I threw some of that in too. I added a jalapeno just for my husband who thinks every food should have some spice to it. Now the only hard part of this is the wait time. You have to let these delectable vegetables sit and stew in the pickling liquid. Four hours is OK but overnight is better. Believe me, this little jar of vegetable goodness will be taunting you. Walk away from the frig and everything will be OK.
If you are lucky enough to have a bounty of summer vegetables, try making Chow Chow. It is so versatile and will go with anything, even on a spoon! It is delicious as a dip too. I’m thinking it would make a delicious muffuletta sandwich too. Hopefully our little garden will provide me with a bounty of vegetables of my own to make this again. If not, I’m hitting the grocery store. I cannot be without my Chow Chow.
In a small saucepan, bring vinegar, brown sugar, water, mustard seeds, garlic, fennel seed, turmeric, black peppercorns and salt to a boil. Stir to dissolve sugar and take off the heat.
Place vegetables into an air-tight jar.
Pour the liquid over the vegetables and refrigerate at least for 4 hours but is better for 24 hours