Garlic and dill pickled okra: a cold-brine jar that waits for you

You pack raw okra, garlic, and dill into a jar, pour over a cold cider-vinegar brine, and let the refrigerator do the rest. No stove, no heat, no fuss, and by the next day you have a sharp, briny condiment that brightens whatever else is on the plate.

Okra is a source of fiber, the kind that feeds the gut microbes you are working to support, and it carries vitamin C, involved in collagen formation and immune function. The garlic and dill carry the flavor entirely on their own.

There is a quiet gift in a jar like this. You make it once, it sits in the door of the fridge, and it is there on the day you have little left to give the kitchen. Whole okra, a few cloves of garlic, a little dill, a pour of vinegar and salt: simple food, made with care, ready when you are.

Ingredients

• 2 lb okra, cleaned, stems trimmed
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp dried dill
• (black pepper omitted for AIP; the original calls for 2 tsp, the garlic and dill carry the flavor without it)
• 2 cups warm water
• 2 cups apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup sea salt

Method

Sterilize your jars first, either by boiling them or rinsing well with vinegar, so the pickle keeps cleanly.

Pack the cleaned okra upright into the jars, leaving about an inch of space at the top.

Divide the minced garlic and dried dill among the jars.

Stir the sea salt into the warm water and apple cider vinegar until it dissolves, then pour this brine over the okra, filling to within about a half inch of the rim so the okra stays submerged.

Seal the jars and refrigerate at least 24 hours before eating. The okra keeps up to about three weeks in the fridge.

A note on safety: this is a quick refrigerator pickle, not shelf-stable canning. Keep it cold and eat it within a few weeks. Long-term shelf storage would require proper canning with a tested processing time, which this recipe does not provide.

*Adapted from acleanplate.com*