An entire shelf of the fridge is home to the sour and the salty: fat-bellied jars of sliced pink onions in vinegar; thin coins of skinny cucumbers with soy and ginger; blackberries in a marinade the colour of beaujolais. Each jar is a testament to my love of the piquant. There is very little summer food that isnt improved by a spoonful of something sour. The cucumber with dill and mustard seeds served with a wedge of cold salmon; the crunch of a radish with a scoop of rose-pink chicken liver pt or perhaps rhubarb that has been steeped in red wine vinegar and black peppercorns with the glistening fat of a grilled pork chop.

Its not just the pickled vegetable itself that becomes the star of the show, but the aromatic liquor that acts as a green, pink or magenta dressing.

I dont long for a larder filled with fancy jars of vinegared preserves laid down for winter. The pickles I use most are those meant for almost immediate consumption. By which I mean those that respond to a few hours mingling with vinegar, salt and aromatics a quick fix for the lovers of sour. This week I added to the top shelf with red onions thinly sliced and steeped for hours rather than days with crisp gooseberries and yellow mustard seeds, and a pot of cauliflower florets and blanched green beans marinated in a fiery Korean chilli paste.

Making a small amount allows us to experiment and avoid the risk of boredom from a cupboard full of the same old chutney. (I have a seemingly bottomless well of chutney I made to use up unripe figs three years ago. I swear it multiplies in the night.) Small amounts of pickle tantalise and intrigue, the backlit colours as beautiful as stained glass in a church window. And it gives us the chance to make a single jar for a specific dish.

Those gooseberries were made with a tartare of fresh mackerel in mind, though we also ate them, a couple of days later, with cold roast pork. The gochujang-spiked cauliflower rather like a Korean-inspired piccalilli came out with an onion tart the size of a wheel of brie and then again, the day after, stirred through steamed sticky rice for lunch.

The gooseberries remain crunchy in this piquant accompaniment, but their tartness is tempered by their time in the vinegar. They need no longer than a few hours in the pickle liquor, but will last for several days. Serves 4

red onions 2, mediumgooseberries 350gyellow mustard seeds 1 tbspblack peppercorns 15malt vinegar 100mlwhite wine vinegar 300mlmackerel fillets 500gradishes 6dill 2 tbsp, choppedsmoked salt 1 tsprye bread 4 pieces

Peel the onions and cut them into thin rings, no thicker than 0.5cm. Put them into a bowl (or if you prefer, a zip-lock bag). Top and tail the gooseberries then add them to the onions. Add the mustard seeds, peppercorns and vinegars with 1 tsp of salt. Seal and set aside overnight.

Remove any sharp pin-bones from the centre of each mackerel fillet with a pair of tweezers. It is worth being fastidious about this ask the fishmonger if you cant do it. Place a medium-sized mixing bowl into a larger bowl filled with ice. Remove the skin from the fillets with a sharp, flexible knife then cut the fish into small dice and put into the chilled bowl.

Cut the radishes into similar small dice, add them to the mackerel, then add the dill and smoked salt. Stir lightly with a fork, only briefly just enough to combine the ingredients. Serve on a chilled plate, together with the pickled gooseberries and some buttered rye bread.

I tend to serve this rather spicy, crunchy little pickle as soon as it is made, though you can store it, covered and refrigerated, for several days. With its brick-red colour and fiery element, it has more than a touch of kimchee to it. The gochujang spice paste is available from major supermarkets and Korean and Japanese food stores. Enough for 2 medium storage jars

cauliflower or romesco 1, smallgreen beans 150gshallots 200g, small (pickling)tomatoes 450ggochujang paste 3 heaped tbspcornflour 2 tbsprice vinegar 200mlmalt vinegar 100ml

Trim the cauliflower or romesco, discarding any very thick stalks or tatty leaves. Cut into small florets. Put a large, deep pan of water on to boil.

Top and tail the green beans and cut into short, 3cm lengths. Peel the shallots then halve each one.

Put the cauliflower florets into the boiling water for 3 minutes, then lift out with a draining spoon and plunge them into iced water. Do the same with the beans. When the water returns to the boil, add the shallots and cook for 8-10 minutes until almost tender, but still with a crunchy texture. Lift out and set aside.

Roughly chop the tomatoes and put them in a saucepan with the gochujang and the vinegars and let them simmer for 10 minutes until the tomatoes are soft, crushing them with a spoon as you go. Using a stick blender, pure the tomatoes and spice paste until smooth.

Mix the cornflour to a thin paste with a little water then stir into the tomato mixture and bring back to the boil. Immediately the tomato pure starts to thicken, remove from the heat. Drain the cauliflower, beans and shallots, stir them into the tomato pure and spoon into a clean storage jar. Seal and refrigerate.

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Nigel Slaters recipes for pickled gooseberries with mackerel tartare and tomato pickle - The Guardian