Name: Pickled Courgette
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 1 courgette; 200 ml white vinegar; 4 tbsp soft brown sugar; 1 tsp salt

This super simple 3 ingredient pickling liquid transforms simple zucchini ribbons into the most gorgeous pickled courgette. It offers the perfect zingy, sharp, crunchy element to any dish (like this Smoked Trout Pate)!

A platter featuring a bowl of creamy salmon dip garnished with dill, accompanied by slices of toasted bread, fresh salad greens, and thinly sliced zucchini on a black plate set on grass.

Having an easy and quick pickling liquid recipe in your arsenal means you'll never be short of a sharp component to balance out other flavours.

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Ingredients for Pickled Courgette
Method for Pickled Courgette
Storage
Why Pickles Are Worth Having In Your Fridge
Pickled Courgette

I'm not a huge fan of cucumber, so I went for the next best thing - courgette (or zucchini, if you're from the US).

Ingredients for Pickled Courgette

A zucchini, a bowl of brown sugar, a bowl of white salt, and a measuring cup with yellow liquid are arranged on a wooden surface.

Courgette (Zucchini) or anything else you fancy pickling in all honesty...

White Vinegar: my favourite white vinegar at the moment is Mazzeti's Bianco Speciale White Condiment.

Brown Sugar: if you'd prefer not to have the slight brown tinge to the pickling liquid then substitute this for straight up granulated sugar

Salt

Optional aromatic additions: mustard seeds, peppercorns, fennel seeds etc. - all will add their own flavour to the pickling liquid).

Method for Pickled Courgette

Add sugar and salt into a pot then pour in vinegar. Bring to the boil (until sugar dissolves), then reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes.

A black frying pan on a wooden surface, containing a spread of brown sugar with a smaller mound of white sugar in the center.

A measuring cup pours clear liquid into a pan filled with brown sugar and a pinch of salt on a wooden surface.

Whilst the three ingredient pickling liquid is simmering, use a vegetable peeler to thinly slice the courgette into thin ribbons. Discard the inner (seeded) section once you've peeled all the way around.

A hand holding a vegetable peeler, peeling a strip of skin off a zucchini on a wooden surface.

Close-up of a hand using a peeler to create thin slices of a green zucchini on a wooden cutting board. The peeled section is light green, contrasting with the dark green skin.

Place the courgette ribbons into a glass jar, then pour over the pickling liquid to marinate.

Thinly sliced zucchini strips are laid on a wooden cutting board, showcasing their light green interior and dark green edges.

A pot is pouring hot water over sliced zucchini in a clear container on a wooden cutting board. The zucchini slices are dark green with pale green interiors.

Storage

Once made, the pickled courgettes should be kept stored in the fridge.

They can be ready to eat within a couple of hours, because we've shaved the courgette ribbons really thin using the peeler.

Pickled Courgette will last up to 4 weeks, albeit they'll start to soften as time goes on.

These refrigerator pickles can be used in a wide variety of things. Examples include a hot smoked salmon sandwich (with beetroot creme fraiche, pea puree and pickled courgette with watercress), alongside Smoked Trout Pate - both pictured below. Or simply enjoyed on a Ploughman's Lunch.

Why Pickles Are Worth Having In Your Fridge

These courgette pickles are a quick, easy option to make when you need a pickled element quickly to balance out a dish. Think of the time you see Masterchef contestants whipping up a pickling liquid during a 1 hour timed cook!

Long-life pickles, usually either canned or jarred for long-life (that last up to 2 years), would require a different method. You can find an example of this in this blog post from The Homesteading Family.