Freshly Pickled Cucumbers

Anyone who has been raised in the context of Russian culture knows what these are. And by Russian culture I mean the general post soviet union countries. Malosolnie ogurchiki - yum!

I have been craving these for some time now. Their taste is quite unique, not at all like regular dill pickles that can be found in almost any supermarket. I would say the taste is something right in between the fresh cucumbers and those pickles from the jar. These are slightly soft yet crunchy, very flavorful. It is a wonderful addition to mashed potatoes, or, as a matter of fact, any potato side dish.

The recipe is very simple. All it takes is

- 2-3 lbs of fresh cucumbers (preferably persian), halved or quartered lengthwise

- 1 bunch of fresh dill

- 3-4 cloves of garlic, halved

- 1 teaspoon of whole allspice berries

- 1 tablespoon of salt

- 1 quart of hot boiled water

Place half of the dill on the bottom of a dish or a jar you'll be making your pickles in (I used a cast iron casserole), sprinkle half of allspice over the dill, then lay out your cucumbers and garlic tightly. Cover with the rest of allspice and dill. Place a small plate on top and press firmly to keep the cucumbers nicely packed (this will help you make sure your pickles are completely covered with water and not floating around). You can use a paper weight or anything small and heavy over the plate to keep it in place.

In a separate dish dissolve salt in hot water and pour it over the cucumbers. Cover the dish with a lid or foil and let stand at room temperature for 24 hours. After that your fresh pickles are ready, just drain them, discard the herbs and refrigerate. They should be good for about a week if refrigerated. Although, I don't think that mine are going to last a week :)