Pickled Red Onions

They’re tasty! They’re versatile! They’re not rocket science! Seriously, this is my favorite use of red onions ever. Did I mention they’re beautiful, too? Beautiful . . . onions?

Cooking for two, I’m often left with “half an onion,” and this is a good use for leftover red onion. (Of course, you can use white or yellow onion, but those won’t be as pretty.)

It’s not so much a recipe as an idea that leads to more ideas. Here we go.

Pickled Red Onions: Is This a Recipe?

This will make 1 cup.

Start with a standard 8 oz. (1 cup) Mason jar or equivalent. To prevent your refrigerator from smelling like onions, you want to use a jar that has a good, tight lid. (Since the lid will forever smell like onions, I have one that I use over and over for this purpose.)

You’ll be using half a medium red onion, so cut it in half (pole to pole). Wrap up and put away the half you’re not using. (Maybe you can put it in some fresh pineapple salsa, or cooked kale, or something.)

Then, using your sharpest knife, slice the onion into the thinnest slices you can manage. I like to do the cuts lengthwise (again, pole to pole), but if you want to cut the other way and make thin little half-circles, that’s up to you.

As you’re cutting up the onion, poke the slices into the jar. Pack it pretty tight. Hopefully, it will all fit. (Erf!) Obviously, use your common sense here. Don’t smash it or bust it up too much. After about a day, the onions will have softened up and the liquid increased, so you might be able to stuff the rest into the jar after a few hours. (Or, find another use for the leftovers. Put them in an omelet?)

Red wine vinegar: Pompeian is a decent brand. Gluck that into the onion-filled jar until you see it coming about halfway up the side.

Sugar: add about 1 teaspoon.

Salt: add a good pinch.

Optional: thyme or tarragon are both good choices. But as little dark specks, they kind of detract from the jewel-like brilliance of the pickles.

Hot water: run the faucet so the water gets good and hot. Then use that to fill up the rest of the jar, to cover the onions.

Now, put the lid on the jar (tightly), and shake it like crazy to get the sugar and salt dissolved, and to get the onions kind of separated and well-bathed in the brine.

Store in the refrigerator overnight. Next day, admire the beautiful red color and notice how the texture has softened and yet crisped (the magic of pickling). If you don’t like the flavor, you can amend it to your taste. (Is it too tart? —then add a little more sugar. Etc.)

This will last several weeks in the refrigerator, but you'll eat it up before that.

What’s It Good For?

More like, what isn’t it good for! In a single relish, you get oniony flavor, vinegar tartness, sweet, and salty. Here are some suggestions.

• As a relish or garnish for anything “Mediterranean.” If you’d have Kalamata olives, hummus, or feta cheese with a meal, serve these as well. It’s outstanding as a garnish. It is very nice on canapés, too.
• Similarly, it goes well with Mexican foods. It’s great on tacos.
• On a salad. The pickling takes the edge off of the onions, so you don’t have that disagreeable onion afterburn.
• On a sandwich. On a hamburger. On a pizza. On a hot dog.
• As a relish with grilled chicken or seafood.
• Do you make avocado toast? If you haven’t tried it, you should. It’s an easy, tasty, and healthy light breakfast. There are lots of ways to make it, but one of my favorites is very simple: mix some minced pickled red onions, plus a little of their juice, with the chopped fresh avocado. Maybe add more salt. Garnish with more pickled onions on top. If you have kalonji (nigella) seeds, sprinkle a few of them on, too. Or you could use coarsely ground black or red pepper or chopped fresh cilantro. When serving this for two, I usually present the avocado mix (basically, a guacamole) in the cereal bowl I prepared it in. Then, I divide the whole-grain toasts onto each of our plates, and we spoon the avocado mix onto our toasts as we eat.
• I haven’t used it in a potato salad, but I’ll bet that would be good, too.