These Dragon's Tongue, purple and flat bean pickles were inspired by Ruth Reichl, who featured the Wynad peppercorns used in this recipe in last week's Gourmet newsletter. In Ruth's words, "everything else is just dust." This $23-a-bag spice is fragrant enough to sew into sachets and store with your unmentionables--if you're into that kind of thing.
I spent days wandering the thousand-year old spice market in Kerala last year, but never encountered these rare peppercorns.wild Balinese long peppers, which I've used instead of bay leaves (per Big Tree's rec). It's an experiment, so don't go cursing Pickle Girl come fall. Have fun with your pickles, people.
1 lb. unusual beans
1 Qt. white vinegar
1 c. water
6 Tb. kosher salt
1 clove garlic
1/2 jalapeno
1 long pepper, snapped in two
1/2 tsp. Wynad peppercorns
1/4 tsp. dill seed
1/4 tsp. black mustard seed
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
You know the drill.
