Pikliz

Even though it’s only a condiment, many would consider pikliz the main attraction for any Haitian dish. Whether someone’s enjoying a plate of griot, diri kole, or banaan peze, you’ll always find pikliz by its side.

What is Pikliz?

At its core, pikliz is a pickled slaw of cabbage, carrots, onions, hot peppers, and a pickling brine of water and vinegar. Some may use additional ingredients such as bell peppers, limes, or aromatics but it’s totally up to you on how you want to go about things.

In addition to bringing a burst of flavor and heat with each bite, there’s several benefits that come with eating pickled foods such as pikliz. When pickling, you preserve fruits or vegetables in an acidic solution.  This not only extends the shelf life of your produce but also enhances its flavor profile, retains nutrients, and even aids in digestion.

The key to pickling any vegetables is time. If you plan on making pikliz, be sure to give the slaw time to absorb the flavors from the brine and achieve your desired texture. It’s okay to check in on the progress but I’d recommend you wait at least 3 days before eating.

The good news? The flavor intensifies the longer the pikliz sits in the solution. Patience really does pay off!

Pikliz

Pikliz

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 3 days d 30 minutes mins

Equipment

• 1 Box Grater
• 1 Blender

Ingredients

  

• ½ head of a medium cabbage shredded
• 2 carrots shredded
• 1 thinly sliced small onion
• 4 cloves of garlic
• ½ of a medium green pepper
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp adobo seasoning
• 2 scotch bonnet peppers
• 1 cup of water
• 1 cup of distilled white vinegar

Instructions

 

Steps:

• Shred cabbage, carrots, and onions into a bowl
• Blend garlic, salt, adobo, scotch bonnet peppers and lime juice into a paste
• Mix blended spices with vegetables and transfer to a mason jar (I ended up using 2 16 ounce mason jars)
• Add water, vinegar to a pot and bring to a simmer
• Once the solution comes to a simmer, turn off heat and let cool.
• Once the brine is cooled, add to mason jar and fully submerge the pikliz with solution
• Cover jar and place in fridge for at least 3 days

Notes

• If you don’t have scotch bonnet peppers you can substitute them for habanero peppers
• The longer you let the vegetables sit in the brine, the better the flavors will be
• Since you are pickling the vegetables, your pikliz should last for at least 3 months