Pickled Romanian gogoșari with cauliflower

Ingredients

• 4 kg gogoșari
• 800 g cauliflower
• 2 medium carrots (300 g)
• 100 g horseradish
• 20 g celery leaves
• 2 l water
• 500 ml vinegar
• 4 bay leaves
• 3 heaping tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon peppercorns
• 4 tablespoons oil
• 3 tablespoons salt

Preparation

1. Wash the gogoșari, remove the seeds and leave them to drain. Wash the cauliflower, break it into florets and leave it to drain; peel the carrots and slice them into rounds, cut the horseradish into strips and wash the celery leaves. 2. Put 2 l water, 500 ml vinegar, 4 bay leaves, 3 heaping tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon peppercorns, 4 tablespoons oil and 3 tablespoons salt in a large pot. Bring the liquid to a boil in about 10 minutes, until the sugar dissolves. 3. Blanch the gogoșari in 4 batches, for 2 minutes each once the liquid comes back to a boil. Transfer them to a bowl and leave to cool for 15 minutes. 4. Put the cauliflower florets in the same liquid and boil for 3 minutes, until they soften slightly at the edges but stay firm. Leave to cool for 15 minutes. 5. Layer the vegetables in jars, alternating gogoșari, cauliflower, carrot, celery and horseradish. Pour the boiling liquid from the pot over them until the vegetables are covered, then seal the jars tightly. 6. Wrap the jars in blankets and leave them to cool until the next day, about 12 hours. This makes 3 jars: one 5 l jar, one 2.5 l jar and one 800 g jar.