I have a glut of garlic cloves as a result of a shopping trip to a cash and carry.  The great big tub of peeled garlic was cheaper than buying a pack of three heads of garlic in the supermarket and I can’t resist a bargain.

I’ve made garlic and ginger paste and used lots of the cloves up in various suppers over the past week or so but there was still about a kilo of them left and it’s getting to the use by date.

So pickled garlic it is.  It’s very simple and they are lovely either with olives or in salads or just with a glass of wine on their own.

I’m afraid I don’t have a camera at the moment so photos are phone jobs – but you get the picture!

I ended up using American cup style measures too – sorry but that’s what I had available and it is easy for this kind of thing.

Ingredients

500g garlic cloves, (peeled, topped and tailed and with the larger ones cut in two)

Pan of boiling water

1 tablespoon pickling spices

1/2 cup lemon juice (I didn’t have any fresh so used frozen and bottled)

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup water

1 dried red chilli

Method

1.    Boil the garlic in a pan of water for about 3 minutes and then drain.

2.    Whilst the garlic is boiling add the rest of the ingredients to another pan and bring to a boil, ensuring all the sugar and salt has completely dissolved.

3.    Put the garlic into a Kilner jar or similar and cover with the hot liquid, seal.  Leave to cool then refrigerate and leave for 2 to 3 days to develop the flavours.