This is a pickling recipe, not a fermenting recipe. If you’re from Chicago, you may recognize this as the over sized version of the same kind of thing that is usually chopped up super thin to put on Italian sandwiches. In this version, our vegetables are bigger and make for good snacking. Slice them up thin yourself for that Chicago style relish for sandwiches and hot dogs of all sorts.

The brine might seem extra salty, but you’ll probably be salty because you won’t get to eat these delicious vegetables right away. Don’t worry, the saltiness of the brine washes off when you drain the vegetables and rinse them. Of course they will be a little salty, but they will also be full of a bunch of other flavors. There’s no real cooking involved in this recipe, so it is a perfect for a quick Thursday night prep, since it can be enjoyed on Saturday with a lazy afternoon lunch or at a cookout. Two days of brining time is perfect for the optimal flavor, but if you really must try them after a day, you’ll find that they taste pretty good then, too.

We used white vinegar in our recipe and you really shouldn’t substitute that. The white vinegar lets the vegetables maintain their coloring, whereas something like apple cider vinegar might stain them, and would taste quite different. White vinegar will give you the cleanest flavor. Our taste testers really enjoyed the vegetables. Pair them with a starch and a meat for a quick meal, or eat them alone, by the handful, standing in front of your fridge at one in the morning. Don’t worry, we won’t judge.