Pickled onions have to be one of the easiest of the pickles to make after pickled red cabbage. Barely anything that could be declared cooking is involved. I know pickles are a bit like Marmite, and you either love or hate them, but I have a passion for anything with vinegar in it, and am entirely capable of each a whole jar of onions in an evening. I don't need anything with them, on their own is fine, but combined with some good bread and a fine Cheddar and you are getting close to food of the Gods.
One reason I make them is they are so much cheaper and crisper home made. A 1lb jar of Garners in Waitrose was £3.99, whereas that amount of money would probably buy you enough ingredients to make 5 1lb jars for the cupboard. Even cheaper if like me you happen to grow you own onions and shallots. You can get adventurous too and customise the spices you use to pickle the onions in, adding chillies, garlic, or whatever is your fancy to adjust them to your own preferences. You have to make them over a few days, although each stage is lengthy, it doesn't actually involve you in any complicated work. Just make sure you aren't about to disappear for a few days when you begin. This recipe will make around 4 x 1lb jars.
Ingredients:
4lbs pickling onions - any small onion/shallot will do
1lb salt
2 pints of spiced vinegar for which you will need:
2 pints of vinegar - I use malt.
2 tbsp of blade mace
1tbsp allspice berries
1tbsp whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
6 black peppercorns, red work well too
1 bay leaf.
Method:
Place all the onions without skinning in a large bowl. Dissolve half of the salt in 4 pints of water and pour this brine over the onions and leave to saok for 12 hours.
Skin the onions, and then make up the rest of the salt with a further 4 pints of water and leave the skinned onions to marinate for another 24 - 36 hours.
Meanwhile, make the spiced vinegar. Place all the remaining ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil, and then allow to cool. Cover the pan to help keep the flavours locked in, and leave for 2 hours. Strain the vinegar through a piece of muslin into a jug to remove the spices and retain covered until ready to use. You can marinate the spices in the cold vinegar for a month or two prior to cooking it, and this will impart an even better spiced flavour.
Drain and rinse the onions and place in sterile jar. Cover the onions in the spiced Vinegar, and add an airtight vinegar proof lid.
I find they are best left a couple of months to mature.
Comments
you can keep the pate, but I'll fight you for the rest x
It really is as easy as I have written here. You could always halve the quantities too - you would still end up with a couple of large jars of them.
Keep up the good work and I look forward to the book ;)
Ryan
Maybe I should change my name to Zoe Fearnley-Whittingstall?
I have hopped over to see you, dear pal, via Celia's post.
I've never even tasted pickled onions, but love the idea of pursuing them because of your post. To think of tasting some actually pickled by their gardener is beyond my imagination this evening.
I also really liked reading about you sewing exploits, then and now, and love the notion of your recycling the wide open spaces of fabulous shirting discarded by those upscale gents.
Zoe, I love reading your posts and have got to find a way that their appearance will set off a trigger (pardon this metaphor) in my blogging set up.
xo
Do you recall that series of posts I did as an Advent Calendar through December - everyone said I should get that published - that was nearly 5 years ago now, and I am still sitting on it.
William Shakespeare
(And the word verif thing is 'trumpets' which surely, should be blown especially if many are clamouring for the tune.)
My mum has an old housekeeping book kept by her grandmother, or great-grandmother, which has everything from recipes to tips on getting rid of bedbugs. You could do a sort of modern take on it. You could call it Zoe's Guide to Life.
I LOVE pickled onions. You will have to save me some for when I come to see your chickens.