overnight pickles

My friend and office-mate Todd makes a mean burger. Half beef, half turkey, all delicious. On these burgers, he put some homemade overnight pickles,with chunks of fennel, something I’d never heard of. They made the burgers even more deliciouser. He was kind enough to share the recipe, which is basically what’s in the picture — cucumbers, cider vinegar, fennel and fennel seed — plus celery seed, salt and sugar. You put it in the jar, and let it sit overnight, like so.

Since Todd made burgers for lunch a couple of days in a row, I learned that the pickles are even better after a few days. Rather than put them on burgers, I incorporated the pickles into an antipasto I made for Paula.

When I was telling her about them intially, she was skeptical about how good I made them out to be. But in the end, she liked them so much that I was told by the “editor” that I’m not allowed to describe the taste because I “don’t know how.” So here’s what Paula says:

First there’s a sense of sweetness immediately followed by the bite of the vinegar. Finishing with intermittent blasts of the annise-y goodness. It’s like no other pickle you’ve ever tasted. It’s good for digestion and seems to go well with Sauvingon Blanc. Also, the pickled fennel chunks are just as good as the cucumbers, so don’t cut the fennel chunks too small!

Here’s the recipe:
1 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon crushed fennel
1 teaspoon celery seeds
2 pickling cucumbers
1 bulb fennel coarsely chopped

1. In a mason jar, combine cider vinegar, sugar, salt, fennel seeds and celery seeds. Stir in kirby cucumbers and chopped fennel.

2. Cover and chill for at least two hours. (I say keep them in there for at least 36 hours, personally.)