Portugese Pickled Onions

I am very excited to share with you my Great Grandmother's recipe for pickling onions! My father's family is from the Azores, an island group off of Portugal, and growing up I had the privilege of sampling all different types of flavors, spices and breads. I am happy to have the privilege of sharing one of those recipes with you.

This recipe, simply referred to as 'Pickled Onions' growing up, is a very easy and straight forward recipe. Even if you never have preserved before I encourage you to try this recipe as you can't go wrong! The end result will be a juicy and crunchy pickled onion with a bite and with a piece of fish you can never go wrong (although it is delicious by itself).

I have made this recipe as simple and straightforward as possible with minimal steps for easy understanding. So come along with me as we embark on a voyage to the Atlantic Ocean to a beautiful little island group tucked away from the world!

3 Large Onions (optional: 1 purple onion for color)

3 Chili Peppers (use a chili of your choice, I use Hawaiian chili peppers)

2 Cups Water (boiling)

2 Cups White Vinegar (I use Heinz)

2 Tsp Sugar

1 Tb Sea Salt (I use pink Hawaiian sea salt)

1 Glass Canning Jar*

Optional: 2 Garlic Cloves

*The size of the glass canning jar will depend on how big your ingredients total. Make sure it can all fit into it while also leaving room for fermentation. Make sure it is clean as unwanted bacteria can spoil the batch.

1. PEEL and WEDGE your ONIONS

2. Chop your CHILIS and (peeled) GARLIC CLOVES

3. COMBINE the CHILIS, GARLIC AND ONIONS

3. (In a separate bowl) MIX together REMAINING ingredients (until SUGAR and SALT have DISSOLVED)

1. ADD a portion of the ONION MIXTURE to the JAR

2. POUR a portion of the LIQUID MIXTURE over the ONION MIXTURE in the JAR

3. REPEAT until the JAR is FILLED (or until there is no mixture left)

4. SEAL the JAR (my quart jars are purple tinged, this is not because of the mixture)

For the next day or two leave the jar outside at room temperature to encourage fermentation.

After which, transfer the jar to the refrigerator.

These onions will now last months and will always be ready if you have a hankering for something delicious.

Also, have fun changing up the recipe. Feel free to add peppers or carrots or even some herbs! The possibilities are endless!

Bonus: If you used a purple onion in the mix, your onions will take on a pink tinge like mine! Pretty cool, right?!

Obrigado! (Thank you!)

I sincerely hope you enjoyed this tutorial! Some of my fondest memories were cooking and preserving with my family and I hope it will create some wonderful memories for you and yours as well!

-HIWA