Global Pickles and Ferments with Rosie Gill
Tart, bubbly, fiery, and sweet: pickles, ferments, and preserves are essential pantry items in every home. The right condiment turns beans and rice from boring to extraordinary, boiled potatoes into luxury items, and simple lentils into complex flavor bombs. Beyond their flavor attributes, however, preserves also connect us to our heritage, allow us to reduce kitchen waste, save money, and extend the shelf life of summer’s bounty. It’s just plain nice to open a jar of dilly beans in February and taste the essence of a hot August night.
In this hands-on class, our resident “Spice Girl” Rosie Gill will lead you through making preserved lemons (a fermented Moroccan condiment), curtido (a Central American sauerkraut-like ferment/slaw), and daikon and carrot pickles (a Southeast Asian quick pickle). Along the way, Rosie will discuss our fermented creations from a cultural perspective and touch upon the health benefits of these foods. Afterwards we will sit down to a feast featuring all of your handiwork, some homemade flat breads, greens and and a few dishes made in advance that use pickled ingredients – like chickpeas with Moroccan spices and preserved lemons. Our friends at the Somerville Growing Center are growing many of the herbs that we will use in the pickles and eat at dinner! **vegetarian friendly.
