Spicy Pickled Beans

Keep these crunchy, sweet-sour-spicy beans on hand for snacking, set them out on a relish tray at a cocktail party, or use in place of celery for bloody Marys.

Yield: 16 servings (serving size: 1 ounce beans)

Ingredients

• 2  quarts water
• 1  tablespoon  salt
• 1/2  pound  green beans, trimmed
• 1/2  pound  wax beans, trimmed
• 1 1/4  cups  red wine vinegar
• 1/2  cup  sugar
• 1/2  cup  sherry vinegar or cider vinegar
• 1/2  cup  vodka
• 2  tablespoons  mustard seeds
• 1  tablespoon  black peppercorns
• 2  teaspoons  fennel seeds
• 1  to 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
• 4  garlic cloves
• 4  fresh dill sprigs
• 2  bay leaves

Preparation

Bring 2 quarts water and salt to a boil in a large saucepan. Add beans; cook 4 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain; place in a large bowl.

Combine red wine vinegar and remaining ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute or until sugar dissolves. Pour over beans; cover and marinate in refrigerator at least 24 hours. Discard dill and bay leaves. Drain, if desired.

Note: Refrigerate beans in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

21 (13% from fat)

Fat:

0.3g (sat 0.0g,mono 0.1g,poly 0.1g)

Protein:

0.8g

Carbohydrate:

3.8g

Fiber:

1.3g

Cholesterol:

0.0mg

Iron:

0.5mg

Sodium:

47mg

Calcium:

18mg