We have been using these quick pickled onions as a topping for salads, tacos, sandwiches, wraps, and eggs this whole week since making them. They are oniony but without the raw onion bite, and slightly acidic from the pickling vinegar.
Quick pickled onions can be made with other spices, but sumac has been one of our favorites. Sumac has a lemony and subtle fruity taste, and you can find it at most middle eastern grocery stores. We discovered sumac for the first time while traveling in Montreal and visited a great middle eastern food spot aptly named Sumac!
A few other flavor additions that would work well for pickled onions are dill and garlic, mustard seeds, caraway seeds, or pepper flakes. You can also use white onions, but the red onions are a little heartier and stand up to soaking in vinegar. Plus, the red onions give you that great pink color!
The quick-pickling process is different from a longer fermented pickle in that it does not use any bacteria cultures to preserve and flavor. It is relying on an already fermented product: vinegar. As opposed to real fermented pickles, you have a bit more control here, as you are not letting the different bacterial cultures that happen to be present run wild. You could argue that these are more like marinated onions, but the term “quick pickle” is often used here to mean a vinegar soaked vegetable that is not left out at room temperature.
You can choose to vary the amount of sugar depending on how sweet you want these onions. They are pleasantly sweet with the 1 tbsp, but you could leave out the sugar all together if desired. Don’t use more than 3 Tbsp of sugar, else you’ll be making candied onions!
The hot vinegar heats the onions just enough to change the flavor, but not so much as they are still crisp. Keep the pickles in the fridge after they are cool, and they will last for several months. These pickled onions would go really well with these spiced chickpeas!
- ½ red onion
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp sumac
- 1 pint sized jar
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Chop onions into thin long slices
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Pack onions slices into a heat proof pint sized jar
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Bring water, vinegar, sugar, and salt to a boil in a saucepan
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Mix sumac into the hot vinegar liquid and pour the liquid the over the onions
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Cool the onions to room temperature, and then store in the fridge for 12-24 hours to let the flavors meld. Onions will keep in the fridge for several months.
