Pickle Salad

Perhaps you, like me, have some jars of fermented pickles in your fridge that will not taste as delicious soon, and are finding it time to make a move on them. Perhaps you also, like me, ate too much hollandaise and eggs benedict for lunch and needed a lighter dinner. 😂 

Here then is a good move: Pickle Salad. I though about substituting pickles for cukes in a tabouli sort of salad, but then I did a search to see if any recipes would come up - one from Bon Appetit did, which I used as inspiration for this dish. I didn't have fennel though, and instead used parsley and tomatoes, meaning I still sort of went with the tabouli salad idea! I thought it was great, and will make it again, especially since I still have tomatoes turning red on the counter and fresh parsley in the fridge. The toasted walnuts and Parmesan are especially delicious in there.

• ½ cup walnuts
• 4 whole pickles, halved lengthwise, sliced crosswise into 1" pieces, plus 3 Tbsp. picklebrine 
• 3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp. honey or monkfruit sweetener
  
• ¼ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• ½ small white or red onion, thinly sliced
  
• Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper 
  
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved  
  1 banana pepper, finely chopped
• ½ cup parsley, shopped
  
• 2 oz. Parmesan, shaved
  
• Extra-virgin olive oil (for drizzling)
  

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Toast walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing once, until golden brown, 8–10 minutes. Let cool; coarsely chop.

Meanwhile, whisk pickle brine, vinegar, mustard, honey/sweetener, and red pepper flakes in a large bowl. Add onion and season with salt and pepper. Let sit to allow onion to soften slightly, at least 5 minutes and up to 15 minutes.

Add walnuts, pickles, tomatoes, pepper, parsley and Parmesan to dressing and toss to coat. Transfer salad to a large shallow bowl or platter (or individual bowls) and drizzle with oil.