Recipe: Acar campur - Pickled vegetables

Acar campur is a very simple Indonesian salad. Best if made at least 3 days before use.

Ingredients

• 1 fresh red pepper, seeded and sliced
• 1 onion, quartered
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 cm / ½ inch cube shrimp paste
• 4 macadamia nuts or 8 almonds
• 2½ cm / 1 inch fresh turmeric, peeled and sliced or 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• ¼ cup sunflower oil
• 2 cups white vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 2 ounces sugar
• 3 carrots
• 1½ cups green beans
• 1 small cauliflower
• 1 medium cucumber
• 200 g / 8 ounces white cabbage
• 1 cup dry roasted peanuts, coarsely crushed
• salt, to taste

Directions

1. Place the chili, onion, garlic, shrimp paste, nuts/almonds and turmeric in a food processor and blend to a paste.
2. Heat the oil and stir-fry the paste for two minutes.
3. Add the vinegar, water, sugar and salt. Bring to a boil then simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Cut the carrots into flower shapes, Cut the green beans into short, neat lengths. Separate the cauliflower into neat, bite sized florets.
5. Peel and seed the cucumber and cut the flesh into neat bite sized cubes.
6. Cut the cabbage into neat, bite sized pieces.
7. Blanch each vegetable separately in boiling water for 1 minute. Transfer to a colander and rinse in cold water to halt the cooking. Drain well.
8. Add the vegetables to the sauce and gradually bring back to a boil. Cook for 5-10 minutes. Do not over cook - the vegetables should still be crunchy.
9. Add the peanuts and cool.
10. Once cool, cover and chill for at least 3 days before serving.

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