Olive Oil Pickle

Easygardener has asked for the recipe so here goes.....

Taken from "Preserving" by Oded Schwartz (A fantastic book on all aspects of preserving!)

"A classic from the colonial American kitchen, this pickle is easy to make and is a great standby. It is mildly sour, refreshing, and keeps extremely well. You can replace the cucumbers with thinly sliced, colourful peppers or carrots."

Ingredients.
1 1/2 pounds pickling cucumbers, sliced 1/4 inch thick.
1 1/2 pounds onions, finely sliced
2 1/2 ounces salt
17 fl oz cider vinegar
2 1/2 fl oz water
1 tbsp dill seeds
1 tbsp celery seeds
1 tbsp yellow mustard seeds
2 1/2 fl oz good fruity virgin olive oil.

Method
1) Put the sliced cucumbers and onions in a large glass bowl, cover with cold water and add the salt. Mix well until salt is dissolved, then weight down to ensure all veg are below the surface. Cover bowl with a cloth and leave to stand overnight.
2) Next day drain the veg. Rinse well under cold running water, then drain again, squeezing out as much liquid as possible. Pack into hot sterilised jars.
3) Put the vinegar, water, herbs and spice into a non-corrosive pan. Bring to the boil and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly, then whisk in the oil.
4) Pour the vinegar into the jars. Poke the veg with a wooden skewer to ensure there are no air pockets. Check that the oil and spices are evenly distributed and the veg are covered, then seal. The pickle will be ready to eat in two weeks, but improves with keeping.

The blurb says that........
the recipe is "easy" (it is!),
cooking time about 8 minutes,
yield..... about 3 pounds,
shelf life..... about 1 year,
serving suggestions...delicious with cheese, such as Cheddar, Red Leicester or white Stilton.

NB I found that it was easier to distribute the herbs and spices through the pickle if I enclosed them in a cloth pouch in the vinegar/water mixture then put them in with the drained veg and mixed them in well before packing the veg into the jars.

BTW Does anyone know where I can get more of the Porosan Preserving Skin which I use to help seal up the Tesco Coffee Jars which I use for pickles. I have almost run out....!