Simple & Delicious Quick-Pickled Red Onions
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
A salty, mildly sweet, sour and tangy quick-pickled red onion recipe that takes 10 minutes to assemble and plays nice with everything ~ simple, delicious and utterly addictive.
Author: Kelly
Serves: 1 pint size jar pickled onion
Ingredients
- 1 medium red onion, peeled quartered and sliced thin
- ¾ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup water (+ boiling water from kettle)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 garlic cloves, sliced in half
- 8 or so peppercorns (I used rainbow)
- a few sprigs of fresh thyme
Instructions
- Bring a kettle of water to boil.
- Place sliced onions in a colander or mesh sieve and hold over sink. Carefully pour boiling water over the onions to soften them, allowing the water to simply drain through. Set aside.
- Stir together the vinegar, water, sugar and salt in a clean pint size mason jar (I use a small whisk) until sugar and salt are dissolved.
- Layer in the warm soft onions, garlic, thyme sprigs and peppercorn, making sure everything is submerged in the vinegar mixture.
- The jar will be quite full - if you have leftover onions that don't fit, simply use them for another purpose (or for round two of pickling!).
- Place lid and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using.
- Leftover pickled onions will store for 10 days or so in the fridge.
Notes
The Vinegar Base - apple cider vinegar is my favorite for this particular recipe but it is quite pungent/acidic - if you prefer a slightly milder vinegar, white rice vinegar is also lovely here (you'll be drinking it right from the jar :o/ ) if you come across a seasoned rice vinegar (Nakano makes a nice one) you can skip the addition of sugar & salt in this recipe.
Cutting the Onion - I suggest cutting the onion in four because I find the smaller pieces of pickled onion easier to work with on food (and less of a choking hazard) than the stringy full rings which can be quite long and tangly.
Warming the Onion - running boiled water over the onion softens it while facilitating absorption of the brine and seasonings.
Health Benefits of Onions - humble though they may be, onions are part of the allium family of disease-fighting phytochemicals that have been shown to have a positive effect on cholesterol levels as well as guarding against certain forms of cancer including colon and prostate.
Cutting the Onion - I suggest cutting the onion in four because I find the smaller pieces of pickled onion easier to work with on food (and less of a choking hazard) than the stringy full rings which can be quite long and tangly.
Warming the Onion - running boiled water over the onion softens it while facilitating absorption of the brine and seasonings.
Health Benefits of Onions - humble though they may be, onions are part of the allium family of disease-fighting phytochemicals that have been shown to have a positive effect on cholesterol levels as well as guarding against certain forms of cancer including colon and prostate.
Recipe by Inspired Edibles at https://www.inspirededibles.ca/2016/04/simple-delicious-quick-pickled-red-onion.html