C — The week figs appeared, red onions appeared too.
I really wasn’t happy with this one. I am really not a big fan of onions. Especially, raw onions. They make me cry when I cut them. They give me a bad headache when I eat too many, and I have bad breath after I eat them.
Three large red onions in front of me. Great! What are we going to make with this, Jim? He mentioned pickled red onions. He even found an onion recipe for me to try.
I was hoping to ignore the onions and the recipe, but they were crying out my name today. I broke down and made them. If you’re ever mad at me and want to give me cruel and unusual punishment, just make me cut up a few onions and call it even. I’ll learn my lesson. I don’t know what I did to deserve this, but the three onions were brutal. What the heck are we going to do with all these pickled onions anyway. Of course, Jim casually mentions putting them on a salad, in a sandwich, served on the side with poached fish. There are three ideas already. Oh, well…
It was a pretty easy recipe, other than cutting up the onions. The toasted coriander seeds were great. It gave a tasty surprise. It was very well balanced and tasted good. I just have to remember not to eat too much. The headache and bad breath are already here.
Now we have pickled red onions for the next six months. Lucky me…
J — They get mellower and tastier over time. Nice thing about this process.
| Pickled Red Onions |
- 2 Tbsp. coriander seeds, toasted
- 1 Tbsp. mustard seeds, toasted
- 3 medium red onions, julienned
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup white balsamic vinegar
- ⅛ cup sugar
- 3 bay leaves
- 3 sprigs thyme
- Salt and craked pepper to taste
- 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- Soak the onions in ice water, then drain and pat dry
- Toast the coriander seeds in a small, dry saute pan over medium heat until its aroma is released, about minutes
- Add mustard seeds to the same pan and toast for 1 additional minute
- in a small sauce pot, slowly bring the vinegars, sugar, bay leaves and thyme to a boil. Adjust the flavor with water, if too acidic.
- Pour this mixture over the onions in a medium, heat-proof bowl; allow to sit for 5 minutes
- Drain off the excess vinegar, season with salt and pepper, then toss lightly with the olive oil
- Store the pickled onions in an airtight jar in the refrigerator until ready for use.
- Enjoy!
Adapted from: Small Bites. Big Nights.