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Food for Thought Friday: crunchy, tangy & ALWAYS in my fridge 🧅🥕
 

Hello and happy Friday!

It’s time to tell you about a major staple topping in my fridge that I realized I haven’t yet written about in this newsletter… quick-pickled onions!

If you’re not already privy to the amazing crunch, tanginess, color, and zing that quick-pickled onions can add to a dish, you’re missing out! I always have these on hand in my fridge, because they are SUPER easy (and cheap) to make, and they perk up any dish x10 in a just few seconds (when you keep them on hand at all times!).

There are many ways to make pickled onions; here’s my preferred method because it’s super easy and still allows for experimentation and a little extra flavoring from some whole spices if you wish! (My recipe is inspired by/adapted from the pickled carrots in the Sqirl Cookbook - Everything I Want to Eat.)

How to use, you ask?! Pickled onions are…
  • great on salads
  • PRIME atop avocado toast
  • wonderful on top of a bowl of slow-cooker beans or lentils with some feta or yogurt
  • amazing paired with creamy tahini sauce on top of veg/meat/fish
  • delicious anywhere you could use some crunch, tanginess, or a contrasting flavor/texture!

Also very important and an even-easier pro-tip: once I’ve eaten all the onions out of the pickling liquid, I simply cut up more onions and add them to the liquid and put back in the fridge! They’re not quite as flavorful as the first batch, but I still find them extremely tasty. I’ll do this multiple times for 1-4 additional months after the first batch, depending how quickly I’m eating the pickled onions. You can also use the pickling liquid in place of vinegar in a salad dressing. Many ways to eat/use… easy as pie! And you can also use this method to pickle other thinly sliced veggies - carrots and radishes both work great.

Recipe below - I hope you enjoy and add this to your repertoire if it’s not there already!

Cheers and happy quick-pickling!

Love,
Jess

Quick Pickled Onions Recipe

Ingredients:
  • 1 red onion (or 2 carrots, or other veg)
  • 1 cup apple cider vinegar (or white vinegar, white wine vinegar, another neutral vinegar or a mix!)
  • 1/2 cup warm water
  • 1/2-1 Tbsp salt (start with less if not using Diamond Crystal - add more to taste)

Optional flavoring additions:
These are some of my favorites but get creative and experiment with other whole spices!
  • 4 green cardamom pods
  • a few sprigs of fresh cilantro (and/or dill and/or other fresh herbs of your choice)
  • 1/2-1 Tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp pink or black peppercorns

recommended vessel: wide-mouthed quart size mason jar
recommended measuring cup: 2 cup pyrex

Instructions:
  1. Measure out vinegar and water into 2-cup pyrex or other vessel. Stir salt into vinegar/water mixture until dissolved. If using, add sugar and stir to dissolve. (Warmer water helps dissolve the sugar and salt more quickly.) Taste it - it will be strong, but shouldn’t be too salty or too sweet.
  2. Prepare veggies: Chop onion into slices - half moons or quarter moons are ideal. If using carrots, I recommend peeling with veggie peeler into ribbons. You can also just slice veggies thinly into any shape you like. This applies for radishes or beets as well.
  3. If using flavorings, prepare those (peel garlic, gently crush whole spices).
  4. Stuff veggies into jar, sandwiching flavorings in between the sliced veggies.
  5. Pour vinegar mixture over the veggies. If not covered, top with a bit more vinegar and/or water.
  6. Let sit for ~an hour at room temp (if you forget, no worries! Can go longer or shorter - very flexible). The veggies will soften and color will change. Taste (they will be strong!) and move to the fridge when ready to store. Lasts in the fridge for a while, 3-6 weeks in my experience but they likely won’t last that long!
Fun tip: Do a side by side flavor experiment! Do one batch plain with just vinegar, water, salt; do another batch with sugar and/or flavorings and see which one you like best!

All photos are taken by me and recipes written by me, unless otherwise noted.

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Hi, I'm Jess! I help health-conscious, busy people transform their cooking from chore to lifestyle through intuitive cooking, which I teach through online classes, free content, coaching and more. This is my newsletter, Food for Thought Fridays, where I share highly actionable tips and inspiration to help you cook more intuitively (which makes cooking feel easier and SO much more fun!). Once a month, I share a recipe that's really worth making, and I only share those with my email subscribers. Sometimes the text above may include affiliate links, meaning (at no additional cost to you) I get a commission if you click through and make a purchase. This helps me to continue to share free content, so I would love it if you buy through my link! Thank you for supporting Garlic Press Jess!

    I currently work + live on land that is the unceded territory of the Ramaytush Ohlone. And I can't wait to eat at Cafe Ohlone! Check out this article about them.


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