Pickled Red Onions from Lisa Dupar’s cookbook

My 2012 garden was quite the project this year. One thing I planted for the first time were onions. Beautiful red bull (that’s what the envelope said) organic onions. For months they just looked like barely there thin strands of hair that weren’t going to do anything but get eaten by bugs or stepped on and destroyed. But with much perseverance it really paid off. I got many beautiful onions that I could eat when I needed them, and leave the rest in the ground until ready to consume.

Then of course for the holiday gift giving I wanted to pickle some of those beauties. I LOVE this recipe from Lisa Dupar’s “Fried Chicken and Champagne”.  The rice vinegar and red wine vinegars just make it that much more special.

Here’s all you do:

PICKLED RED ONIONS 

1 1/3 cups red wine vinegar

1 1/3 cups rice vinegar

1 1/3 cups sugar

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

4 teaspoons mustard seeds

1 pound red onions, sliced in thin matchstick strips

In a saucepan over medium heat, bring the red wine vinegar, seasoned rice wine vinegar, sugar, peppercorns, bay leaf, and mustard seeds to a simmer, but do not boil or the red wine vinegar will lose its color. Add the onions and simmer for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and let cool. When cool, store the sliced onions and liquid in the refrigerator until needed: keep about 1 month in the refrigerator.

Makes 2 quarts.

Bon Appétit!