Pink pickled onions

Pink pickled onions first appeared in my life when the first branch of Wahaca opened in London. (Incidentally, the restuarant chain was co-founded by Masterchef-winner and Ballymaloe-cookery-school-attendee Thomisina Miers. I come across her name often as she is now heavily involved in various food-sustainability charities and initiatives).

My faourite dish at this newly opened, Mexican-inspired establishment was tacos with pork pibil and pink pickled onions. And I’ve loved the pink onions ever since!

Since then, I’ve travelled to eat the same dish from it’s home in the Yucatán province of eastern Mexico and I’ve also made myself a quick jar of pink pickled onions hundreds of times! And this is why….

Pink pickled onions are 1) a totally awesome colour and make almost any dish look amazing and 2) they add brightness, sharpness and deliciousness to almost any dish.

Delicious sprinkled over chilli!

2 good-sized red onions (about 500g in total)
200ml cider vinegar
100ml fresh citrus juice (I normally use a combination of lime and orange)
4 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt

1) Peel and cut the onions in half. Slice into half-circles and break them up a little. Pack them into a large jar.

2) Put the vinegar and citrus juice into a small pan and add the sugar and salt. Stir regularly over a low heat until the sugar and salt has fully dissolved.

3) Pour the hot liquid over the onions in the jar. Keep on pushing more onions and more liquid into the jar so they are really tightly packed. As the onions soften, you will be able to fit a surprisingly amount in. You want all the onions to be submerged below the liquid.

4) You can eat them, but they are much better after a few hours or a day.
They will keep in your fridge for weeks (though they do lose some of their vibrant colour!).