Sometimes you’ve just got to switch things up a bit in the kitchen. The food you pour forth to that table your family sits around can be full of critics when they get bored.
This is especially true of cultured foods. If you’re still in that phase where you are trying to convince your family to love cultured food as much as you do then keeping it interesting is imperative.
So why not spice up your cultured vegetables a bit? If you’ve ever made lacto-fermented carrot sticks then you know how easy and yummy they can be. In this recipe you’ll get the same quick and easy vegetable ferment with a lovely southwestern twist.
Ingredients:
1 - 1.5 lb. Carrots, cleaned
Water
1 tablespoon Sea Salt
3 Garlic Cloves, peeled
Two handfuls of Fresh Cilantro Leaves
1/2 teaspoon Cumin Seeds
Instructions:
Make a brine from 1 tablespoon of salt combined with one quart of fresh water. Set aside.
Cut carrots into sticks that will fit into your quart jar. If they are large cut it in half horizontally and then into quarters vertically (to create long, thin sticks). If they are smaller you can simply cut them in half vertically.
Place garlic cloves, cumin seeds, and a handful of cilantro into the bottom of your jar. Place carrot sticks on top vertically so that they all fit. Add second handful of cilantro.
Pour the brine over the carrot sticks and cilantro, leaving 1 inch of headspace. Place a lid on the jar, tighten and place in a cool spot to ferment for 1-2 weeks. You will need to burp the jar every day for the first few days to release any pent up gases.
Once cultured you can eat and/or transfer to cold storage.
