Name: Pickle Relish
Total time: 3 h 55 min
Yield: Makes about 2 cups
Ingredients: 1 pound pickling cucumbers, ends trimmed, cut into 1‑inch pieces; ½ green bell pepper, cut into 1‑inch pieces; ½ onion, chopped coarse; 1½ teaspoons kosher salt; 1 cup distilled white vinegar; ½ cup sugar; 2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds; ½ teaspoon celery seeds; ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric

Why This Recipe Works

Our homemade version starts by finely chopping the vegetables in a food processor and then salting them to avoid a watered-down, mushy relish. For a classic relish, we liked the combination of white vinegar, sugar, yellow mustard seeds, and celery seeds; to deepen the flavors we found that a simmer on the stovetop was necessary.

Instructions

Pulse cucumbers in food processor until coarsely chopped into 1/4‑inch pieces, 8 to 10 pulses; transfer to large bowl. Pulse bell pepper and onion in now-empty food processor until coarsely chopped into 1/4‑inch pieces, about 6 pulses; transfer to bowl with cucumbers. Stir in salt, cover, and refrigerate for 3 hours.

Drain vegetables in colander, transfer to clean dish towel, and squeeze to remove excess liquid. Bring vinegar, sugar, mustard seeds, celery seeds, and turmeric to boil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add vegetables, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until vegetables are translucent and mixture has thickened slightly, 10 to 15 minutes.

Let relish cool slightly, then transfer to airtight container and let cool to room temperature. (Relish can be refrigerated for up to 4 months.)