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Pickled Patissons with Zucchini for Winter
Pickled patissons (also known as pattypans or scallop squash) with zucchini for winter turn out beautifully sweet and sour, properly tasty and pleasingly crispy, just as good as ordinary pickled patissons without the added zucchini. The bright yellow patissons resemble little sunflowers in the jar, which provides a wonderful visual reminder of the hot summer when they appear on the festive table during the cold dark winter months. The contrast of the bright yellow patissons against the dark green zucchini creates a properly cheerful preserved appetizer.
The whole recipe takes about 40 minutes from start to finish (plus the necessary sterilization time and overnight cooling). The recipe yields one beautiful 1-litre jar of finished preserves, perfect for one celebration meal or for sharing as a homemade gift. Plan to start the recipe in the afternoon so the jars can cool overnight for the proper traditional preservation. Store the cooled jars in a cool dark pantry for up to a year of safe storage. Beautiful preserves to brighten any winter meal!
Preparation time: 40 minutes.
Ingredients
Show ingredients
- small patissons - 6 pcs;
- zucchini - 1 pc;
- bay leaf - 1 pc;
- horseradish leaf - 1/2 pc;
- garlic - 2-3 cloves;
- allspice - 3 peas;
- black pepper - 5 peas;
- hot pepper - 1 slice;
- dill with umbels - a few sprigs.
Marinade:
- water - 500 ml;
- sugar - 5 tsp;
- salt - 2 tsp;
- vinegar - 25-30 ml.
Preparation
- Gather the necessary products on a clean work surface for beautiful preservation of pickled patissons with zucchini for winter. Optionally, instead of dark green zucchini, light yellow or white zucchini can be used for a different visual effect in the finished jar.
- To make the preservation not only properly tasty but also beautifully visually appealing, choose small young patissons that can be placed whole in the jars without any cutting. Smaller young patissons also turn out noticeably crisper in the finished preservation than larger older specimens.
- Blanch the patissons and zucchini for 4-5 minutes in boiling water, then transfer them immediately to cold water to stop the cooking and cool them down. The blanching step softens the vegetables slightly while preserving their proper crisp texture.
- Wash the jar thoroughly with warm water and baking soda. Then sterilize the washed jar with steam (over a boiling kettle or in a steamer) to ensure proper sterility for safe long-term preservation of the finished preserves.
- Fill the prepared sterilized jar with the herbs and spices first. In a one-litre jar, it is enough to put a couple of sprigs of dill with umbels and half a horseradish leaf cut crosswise into strips. Add the bay leaf, the various pepper peas and a small slice of hot pepper (no more than 0.5 centimetres thick). Peel the garlic cloves, slice them, and add to the jar with the rest of the aromatics.
- Cut off the stem ends from the patissons, removing all the dark spots with the sharp tip of a knife. Also cut off the small tip from the back side of each patisson to neaten the appearance.
- Place the prepared patissons in the jar with the aromatics. The zucchini can be sliced into simple round circles, but the dark green vegetables actually look more beautiful when cut into decorative carved shapes for the festive presentation in the jar.
- Prepare the marinade for the patissons with zucchini. Pour 500 millilitres of water into a saucepan and place over medium heat. Mix the salt with the sugar and pour into the warming water. Boil the syrup gently over low heat under a closed lid for 5 minutes total to dissolve everything completely.
- Add the vinegar according to the recipe directly into the jar with the vegetables, then pour the hot syrup into the jar over the top. Immediately cover the jar with a sterilized lid (loosely, not yet sealed). Gently shake the jar so no air bubbles remain trapped between the vegetables. Let the jar sit on the table for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place a large saucepan on the stove for the sterilization step. Line the bottom of the saucepan with a clean cloth to prevent the jar from cracking, and place the prepared jar with patissons on top. Carefully pour in slightly warm water until the level reaches the shoulders of the jar, and turn on the burner under the saucepan. When the water boils, time the sterilization carefully. For a 1-litre jar, the proper sterilization takes 20 minutes total. Adjust the heat so the water boils continuously but does not roll vigorously throughout the sterilization time.
- After the necessary 20-minute sterilization time, use special canning tongs to carefully remove the jar from the boiling water. It is genuinely important that the jar remains covered with its lid throughout this transfer step. Seal the jar tightly with the lid, turn it upside down, and leave it in this position to cool down completely without covering with anything. After cooling, transfer the preservation to a cool dark place for storage. Bon appetit!
Cooking video
Tips and Tricks
Tip 1. Choose properly small young patissons (no larger than the palm of your hand) for the most attractive finished preservation, since smaller specimens fit whole in the jars and produce noticeably crisper results than larger older patissons would. Look for properly bright yellow colour and firm flesh without any soft spots or blemishes when buying. Older larger patissons can still be used but should be cut into smaller pieces and may produce slightly softer finished preserves.
Tip 2. Sterilize the jar and lid thoroughly before filling for safe long-term storage, since improperly sterilized equipment can lead to dangerous botulism contamination. To pair these beautiful preserved patissons with another classic homemade pickle recipe for variety in your winter pantry, try our crowd-pleasing pickled green tomatoes for winter autumn kaleidoscope as a contrasting tomato-based preservation alternative.
Tip 3. Use the correct ratio of vinegar, salt and sugar for proper safe preservation, since incorrect ratios can lead either to dangerous spoilage or to unpleasantly over-vinegared finished patissons. Always follow the recipe quantities precisely. The 20-minute sterilization time is also genuinely essential for proper safe long-term storage of the finished preserves at room temperature throughout the winter months.
Tip 4. Store the cooled finished jars in a cool dark pantry rather than in direct sunlight, since light exposure can degrade both the colour and the flavour of preserved vegetables over time. For another beautifully traditional homemade preservation recipe, try our crowd-pleasing pickled green tomatoes for winter autumn kaleidoscope as a colourful tomato-based alternative for variety in your pantry.
FAQ
What are patissons and where can I buy them?
Patissons (also known as pattypan squash, scallop squash or button squash in different English-speaking countries) are a beautiful summer squash variety with a distinctive flying-saucer shape and bright yellow or white colour. They are widely available at farmers' markets and specialty grocery stores during the summer months (typically June to September in temperate climates). For preserving, choose small young patissons no larger than the palm of your hand for the best texture and visual appearance.
How long do these pickled patissons keep?
Properly sealed pickled patissons with zucchini keep beautifully in a cool dark pantry for up to a full year. The flavour actually improves significantly during the first 2-3 months as the brine penetrates the vegetables and the spices fully infuse the preserves. Once a jar is opened, transfer to the refrigerator and use within 4 weeks for safety and best quality. Always check the jars carefully before opening and discard any with visible mould, off-smells or bulging lids that signal spoilage.
Can I add other vegetables to the jars?
Absolutely. Slices of bell pepper, small whole pickling cucumbers, baby carrots, cauliflower florets, small whole pickled mushrooms or even small white onions all work brilliantly added to the basic patisson-zucchini recipe for an even more colourful preserved appetizer. Each addition brings its own slightly different flavour and texture to the finished preserves. Adjust the salt and vinegar quantities slightly upward to account for the additional vegetable mass in each jar for safe preservation.
What can I serve these pickled patissons with?
Pickled patissons pair brilliantly with rich meat dishes such as boiled potatoes with butter, smoked sausages, grilled lamb chops, hearty beef stews, traditional borscht, and even simple boiled potatoes with sour cream. The bright tangy flavour cuts through rich fatty foods beautifully and provides the perfect counterpoint to winter comfort meals. They also work brilliantly chopped into salads, on sandwiches with cured meats, or simply enjoyed straight from the jar as an appetizer at festive celebration meals.
