Mrs Bailey’s Chilli Pickle

…which is not the same as pickled chillies…

Mrs Bailey may seem at first sight to be a school cook of the most traditional sort, but any such view — should anyone dare to hold it — would be devastatingly wide of the mark. Her curiosity is boundless, her palate as adventurous as her experience is broad.

Among other surprises in store for the ill-informed is the fact that she adores hot food, and the spicier the better. Hence this pickle, which she likes to make with Thai bird’s-eye chillies (though she does make a somewhat milder version with Indian finger chillies, for curry days at the school).

50g yellow mustard seeds, lightly crushed in a mortar

50g ground cumin

25g ground turmeric

50g garlic, crushed

150g cider vinegar

75g sugar

10g salt

150g mustard oil, plus more as needed

two dozen garlic cloves, peeled

500g fresh chillies, stemmed and washed

Mix everything listed from the mustard seeds to the salt in a medium bowl, cover and allow to sit for twenty-four to forty-eight hours, mulling quietly to itself.