The Greek Food » Special » Pickle Recipe (toursi): How to make your own traditional pickles

One of the best things that you can have a side dish is pickles or  “toursi/τουρσί” as it is being called in Greek. You know about and you see them more or less every time on the super markets.

I always used to have toursi at home because my father used to make it in a bowl by himself. Its not difficult to make and its really enjoyable and tasty.

There are different kind of pickles depending where you are coming from, for example in USA and Canada they like to do cucumbers, while in Greece , Turkey and generally the Arabic countries I think we are more on green peppers and other vegetables.

The process is basically really simple, you leave all the vegetables in a lot of vinegar and let it the vegetables receive it for some days.  But who am I to talk about those old and traditional recipes.

Well, recently we got my father as a present a laptop so we can communicate a little bit more easily, and as a first job I made him write the recipe about toursi …the pickles recipe.  So here it is in his own style…the recipe for pickles as my father send it in his first email to me… 😀 (obviously translated…)

 PICKLES – TOURSI

• 600 to 700 grams of green peppers

We can replace them with other vegetable or put them all together if we have space.

For example cauliflower, cabbage etc.

1. Rinse all your vegetables and place all the vegetables in a bowl, add the salt and toss well. Allow to steep for 4 hours.
2. Squeeze excess liquid in batches with your hands and place in other bowl with enough vinegar to just cover the vegetables and allow to steep for 3-4 hours…depending how tart you would like your toursi. Taste after 3 hours and judge by your taste, leaving in the vinegar if you like your vegetables to be more tart.
3. Again, squeeze your vegetables with your hands, place in jars with a combo of olive/sunflower oil. Seal with lids and place in fridge. Keeps well for 6 weeks.

After 7-8 days it should be ready.. 🙂

Additionally you can add

CAULIFLOWER. Wash and cut it and add it in the jar

CABBAGE. Cut the leaves Wash and cut it more or less as our palm

BULBS. Small onions like the ones we use for the stew, just clean them and add them inside .

GHERKINS. If you find small  (approximately 10cm)  add them inside. Only clean the top and the bottom place. After 5-6 days remove them and cut them in fat slices like in the salad. Add a little olive oil and eat them.

GOOD LUCK