Pickled Red Onions

Pickled Red Onions

  • Serves: 2 cups
  • Prep Time: 00:05
  • Cooking Time: 00:03
  • * Cooling time 1 hour
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These Pickled Red Onions are tangy and slightly sweet from the maple syrup I've used in this delicious recipe. They are the perfect condiment to add to a steak sandwich, Mexican dishes, or salads, to top smashed avocado on toast, and so much more.

Ingredients

* Please click on the green icon next to the ingredients listed below for extra details and helpful information.

  • 1 medium red onion
  • 150ml apple cider vinegar
  • 100ml filtered water
  • 2 Tbsp maple syrup (100%)
  • 1 tsp fine sea salt
  • 4 fresh leaves or 2 dried bay leaves, (dried leaves are stronger in flavour)
  • 1 tsp black peppercorns

Directions

Place the onion on its end and slice in half. Place the flat side on your chopping board and slice very fine half-moon slices.

Add the apple cider vinegar, water, maple syrup and salt into a small saucepan and heat until you reach a gentle simmer (2-3 minutes). Stir to dissolve the salt.

Add the bay leaves and peppercorns to the sliced onions in the bowl. (I have a bay tree in a tub in my garden, making it easy to grab leaves as I need them).

Pour the hot vinegar mixture over the onions, making sure all the ingredients are covered. Set aside for approximately one hour at room temperature until cooled.

(The onions need to soften a little before going into the jar, or you will need extra liquid and a bigger jar to cover them.)

Spoon the onions and bay leaves into a 700ml weck jar or similar preserving jar, then pour over the vinegar mixture, including peppercorns.

Make sure to press the onions down so they are covered by the liquid. Seal and place in the fridge.

It's best to wait at least 24 hours before using them to allow the flavours to come out.

Store in the fridge for up to 4 weeks, if they last that long.

Add the pickled red onion to just about any meal or snack.

red onion

Red onions are sometimes called purple onions and have a mild to sweet flavour. They are normally eaten raw or lightly cooked. Raw they add colour to salads, when lightly cooked some colour is lost. Red onions are packed with quercetin, aside from its antioxidant properties, quercetin has been found to possess cancer fighting, ani-fungal, aniti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.

apple cider vinegar

Apple Cider Vinegar is used extensively throughout my recipes due to its health benefits. When purchasing, look for raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar ‘with the mother’ it has a cloudy appearance. Avoid malt vinegars as they are made from barley and contain gluten.

filtered water

I feel it's much better for our health if we filter our water. Our tap water contains disinfectants, chlorine and chloramine. Also floride is add which I believe is toxin to our bodies.

maple syrup (100%)

Maple syrup is an earthy, sweet tasting amber liquid that is produced by boiling down the sap of maple trees. Use organic 100% maple syrup which is a natural food sweetener, not a flavoured maple syrup. Pure maple syrup contains a decent amount of some minerals, especially manganese and zinc, some traces of potassium and calcium but it does contain a whole bunch of sugar. I try to reduced the amount of sweetness in each recipe to the lowest possible without compromising taste. Feel free to adjust to your liking. I use maple syrup in place of raw honey when I don't want the strong honey flavour coming through in a recipe. I have paleo cookies and desserts in my cookbook made from whole food ingredients with natural sugars but please don’t overindulge. Use as a treat only for special occasions.

sea salt

Organic unbleached, unrefined organic Celtic sea salt or pink Himalayan salt is my salt of choice as these contain healthy minerals and trace elements that our body needs. Regular table salt has been bleached, refined and processed leaving minimal health benefits. If you choose to use regular table salt in my recipes you will need to reduce the quantity or the end result will be to salty.

bay leaves

Bay leaves can be used dried or fresh in cooking. The aromatic leaf is commonly used in Mediterranean, Italian and Indian dishes. Bay leaves have a herbal fragrance and are similar in flavour to oregano and thyme. They add flavour to stews, soups, sauces, meat and vegetable dishes. Having your own bay tree in a large tub in your garden is a great way to have fresh leaves on hand for your cooking.

black peppercorns

Black peppercorns come from the fruit of a tropical vine. Black pepper is a cooked and dried fruit known as a peppercorn. One of the world's most popular spices.