Muraturile — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

An assortment of vegetables preserved in a tangy brine with dill, garlic, and horseradish, fermented to develop complex sour flavors essential to Moldovan meals.

Ingredients

500g small cucumbers
500g green tomatoes
2 bell peppers, quartered
1 small cauliflower, broken into florets
4 carrots, sliced
1 small cabbage, cut into wedges
6 cloves garlic, peeled
Fresh dill, generous bunches
2 horseradish leaves
For brine: 2 liters water, 60g salt
10 black peppercorns
2 bay leaves

Instructions

1 Wash all vegetables thoroughly. Cut larger ones into pieces that fit snugly in jars.
2 Layer vegetables in clean glass jars, tucking dill, garlic, and horseradish leaves between the layers.
3 Boil water with salt, peppercorns, and bay leaves. Let the brine cool to room temperature.
4 Pour cooled brine over the vegetables, ensuring everything is fully submerged. Cover jars loosely.
5 Let jars sit at room temperature for three to five days until fermentation develops the desired tangy flavor.
6 Transfer to a cool cellar or refrigerator. The pickles improve in flavor over the first two weeks.

Did You Know?

A Moldovan cellar without rows of pickle jars is considered a scandal, and families compete to have the most impressive collection of preserved vegetables.