INGREDIENTS
100 g (1 cup) dried shiitake mushrooms
125 ml white wine vinegar
1½ tablespoons granulated (raw) sugar
1 tablespoon freshly ground coffee beans
Makes 1 × 300 ml jar

TO MAKE

Place the dried mushrooms in a bowl and cover with 500 ml of boiling water. Put a plate on top of the mushrooms to push them down into the water, making sure they are submerged. Soak for 15 minutes.

Strain the mushrooms through a fine mesh colander, reserving 125 ml of the soaking liquid.

In a pan, combine the mushroom liquid with the vinegar and sugar and bring to 92°C, not boiling, stirring, until the sugar is completely dissolved and the temperature reads 90°C. You don’t want the mixture to get any hotter, otherwise you will burn the coffee.

Put the mushrooms into a clean jar or plastic container.

Add the ground coffee beans to a lined filter (I use a ceramic V60 coffee dripper) and place it over the jar or container with the mushrooms.

Slowly pour a small amount of the pickling liquid over the coffee grounds and leave for 30 seconds.

Now add the remaining liquid to the filter until it fills the jar or container.

Let it come to room temperature before putting on the lid and refrigerating. The pickles will be ready to eat in 1 day and keep for up to 2 weeks when refrigerated.

This is an edited extract from Pickled by Freddie Janssen published by Hardie Grant and is available in stores nationally.