Pickled Red Onions

Most people may not have quite the obsession that I have with pickles, I could easily eat a whole jar in one sitting. From a very young age, I continually rated the quality of pickles at every restaurant or fast food chain that served them. In fact, I think I still do – I am just in denial.

Recently, I have been delving into the world of canning and preserving. One of the first things on my list was to make homemade pickles – and really you can pickle almost anything these days.

I often visit a great Italian restaurant called Ritorno, located in Oakville. Ironically, the manager (not sure if she is the owner) is from North Bay and went to school here for hospitality – small world. Their food is spectacular, and my dad and I always share their antipasto platter for two. This plate is littered with fresh breads, cheeses, meats, and various pickled veggies – you can check out their menu here. My dad dives right into the meat and cheese, while I basically inhale every pickled or marinated vegetable as quickly as I can. My recent favourite, and one that I have grown to crave, are their pickled red onions. They are so tart – I mean scrunch your face up, eye-watering, tart (in a good way).

I decided to go on a hunt and see what was out there in the recipe world for these delectable pickled red onions. What I found, was that most recipes either were based on just straight vinegar or spiced vinegar. Immediately, the underlying notes of cloves, peppercorns, red chiles, bay leaves and cinnamon seemed most appealing to me. This would add a depth of flavour to the pickle and possible tame the tang? We’ll see.

After endless pondering, and a severe craving for vinegar, I decided on playing around with a recipe found on Orangette. This food blog is what all foodies aspire to become – definitely worth checking out.

I made a few changes, among them are varying the amounts of sugar and vinegar – Ritorno's pickles have what tastes like no sugar added, so I didn’t want them to be too sweet. You can simply play around with the flavours and test out what suits you best. Most people serve these with cheese, crackers and breads – but I picture them on a falafel sandwich and I’m in heaven. Better yet, eat them right out of the jar.

Pickled Red Onions:
Based on a recipe featured on Orangette, found here.

3 cups distilled white vinegar
½ cup natural cane sugar *
1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
4 whole cloves
5 allspice berries
1 red chile, broken in 4 (1 piece for each jar)
2 bay leaves
1 star anise
15 black peppercorns
1 ½ lbs red onions
2 cups water

In a medium stainless steel (non-reactive metal) pot, bring to a boil the vinegar, sugar, cinnamon stick, cloves, allspice berries, chile, bay leaves, star anise, and peppercorns.

Slice the onions fairly thin either by hand or on a mandolin. (A mandolin makes this much more efficient and provides more uniform slices – although it is not a necessity). Also note that you can vary the thickness of the onions depending on your preference (I prefer them thin because it is what I am most used to). Make sure to toss out the bruised or tough outer layers.

Once the brine has come to a boil, add the onions in batches. As soon as you do so, allow the brine to come to a simmer again and leave them in for 15-20 seconds. Stir them down with a wooden spoon. This quick cooking time is essential in retaining a crispy, crunchy onion – nobody likes a mushy pickle. They will immediately be a vibrant pink colour. Remove them and spread them out on a baking sheet to cool (you may need a few of them); this will speed up the cooling process. Continue to blanch all your onions in batches. Once you are finished, chill your brine in the fridge. In the meantime, sterilize your jars.

When everything is completely cooled, place the onions in the jars – I ended up using four 500 ml jars. Add the 2 cups of water to your brine mixture and stir to combine. Fill your jars with the brine and make sure the onions are completely covered. You may have a few extra onions – I just munched on them as I was canning.

I did not seal my jars, because I thought reheating them might compromise the crispy nature of the onions. Simply place them in the fridge and within 2-3 days they are ready to eat. They will keep for approximately one month.

* Note that I drastically reduced the amount of sugar, if you are looking for a sweeter pickle then feel free to adjust that to your liking. Make sure to taste your brine as you go. I also used natural cane sugar (less refined), but I have also seen this recipe done with the addition of honey – something to try in the future? Enjoy!

Wheatberry Salad

After easing my way into summer, I fractured my ankle. It seems fitting, since things like this usually happen to me when the weather is finally nice outside. So spending hours standing in the kitchen testing recipes did not seem ideal – I decided to pull out my cookbooks and go from there.

I had recently picked up some wheatberries - they are an excellent source of fibre and they add a great crunchy texture to many salads, breads, or stews. Wheatberries are unprocessed wheat kernels that contain the germ, endosperm, and bran – with only the hull removed. Their nutritional profile is spectacular, so why not try them out!

You can usually find them in your bulk food section of a local health-food store, or you may order them from Bob’s Redmill. Store them in a cool dry place, or even the fridge to extend their shelf life. Before cooking them, make sure you give them a good rinse until the water runs clear. Then bring 3 cups of salted water to a boil for every 1 cup of wheatberries – you can drain out any excess if need be. I find they take about 1 hr of simmering to soften up, but they will still remain slightly al dente.

This particular salad is from Barefoot Contessa Family Style: Easy Ideas and Recipes That Make Everyone Feel Like Family(page 67). Unfortunately, I do not have permission to post this recipe but creating your own version will be just as good. Essentially you can play around with the ingredients as much as you like. Here there are finely diced red onions, red pepper, carrot, green onions – but I encourage you to use whatever vegetables you have on hand.

The dressing is flavoured with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper – very simple. The key here, is allowing the salad to sit so the wheatberries can absorb all the sauce. I served it at room temperature, which Ina recommends.