Having the jars has meant that one of hubby's long-standing wants has been satisfied - that of making his own pickled onions.
Having accumulated the acquired wisdom of various websites, together with the small amount of ingredients required, he set to. The vinegar quantities are a bit of an experiment, as the total quantity needs to be 1 litre but we were keen to achieve the dark brown and flavour that the balsamic brings. Equally, the spice is completely up to you!
PICKLED ONIONS (makes two 750 ml jars)
Ingredients :
1kg pickling onions
50g salt
900ml pickling vinegar
100ml balsamic vinegar
180g sugar
half a tsp peppercorns
half a tsp coriander seed
a chilli
Method :
1. Top and tail the onions.
2. Blanche them in boiling water, with the skins on, for 20 secs.
3. Put onions into cold water to stop them cooking & peel them under the water to prevent oxidisation and toughening.
4. Drain the onions and place into a bowl, then sprinkle with 50g salt, cover and leave overnight.
5. Be amazed at the amount of water that has come from the onions, drain them and thoroughly rinse under cold water and put to dry on kitchen paper.
6. In a saucepan, combine the pickling vinegar, balsamic vinegar and sugar. Bring to the boil and turn off the heat, allowing the mixture to cool slightly.
7. Place onions into clean sterilized jars with peppercorns, coriander seed, a chilli and anything else you like.
8. Pour in vinegar to the top of the jar to cover the onions, seal and leave for at least 1 week, but they get better the longer you leave them.
Roll on Christmas!
