Pickled Cauliflower, Carrots, and Jalapenos (Escabeche)

This recipe comes from "Tacolicious," the cookbook from the eponymous San Francisco chain of full-service Mexican restaurants. This recipe is a variation on a traditional Mexican pickle that is served alongside the restaurant's tacos. Instead of discarding the brine after pickling, the restaurant serves it as a chaser, or pickleback, with shots of tequila.

The spicy, salty brine makes for a brusque palate cleanser between shots. Because this recipe calls for rice wine vinegar, which is less than 5 percent acidity, it cannot be canned via water bath canning ​but will keep, refrigerated.

When it comes to setting the table in Mexico, this mix of spicy pickled vegetables, also known as escabeche, is almost as expected as salsa.

At Tacolicious, the escabeche includes cauliflower, but most typically you will see jalapenos, carrots, and onions. Unless you have the time and the desire, do not worry about removing the seeds from the chiles. Try experimenting with a chunkier version, too, leaving the jalapenos whole and cutting the carrots into large pieces.

The origin of the word "escabeche" is Persian; it was brought to Spain by the Arabs likely during the Moorish conquest of Spain in the Middle Ages. The word derives from al-sikbaj, the name of a popular meat dish cooked in a sweet-and-sour sauce, usually vinegar, honey, or date molasses. The dish originated in Mediterranean countries like Turkey and Lebanon but has spread all over the world in one form or another usually representing a type of food that is vinegared or pickled. It is known as escabecio in Italy, savoro in Greece, and scabetche in North Africa.

10 Simple Steps to Becoming a Home Canning Expert