Quick Pickled Onions

I don't normally post recipes for garnishes or condiments, but this one is good enough to deserve attention.  Sometimes the right condiment can make a big difference in a finished dish as a contrast to the other flavors and textures, but it needs to have big flavor to stand out.  In this recipe red onions are pickled for just a few hours so they retain some crunch but pick up a vinegary pop and complexity from the whole spices.

I first discovered this recipe as a recommended garnish for fried rice of all things, but I've noticed that chef Rick Bayless often recommends pickled onions as a garnish for Mexican dishes such as tacos, enchiladas, tortas and meatballs.  I've used pickled onions as a topping for burgers and find them to be much better than regular onion, and they also work well in rice bowls and noodle bowls.  And they're the perfect accompaniment for any grilled or barbecued meats such as pulled pork or ribs because the vinegar cuts through all that fatty richness.  Finally, hot dishes that are creamy also benefit from a garnish of a few pickled onions for contrast.

Basically, they go with pretty much everything so I find myself making them often.  They're extremely easy to make and marinating them for just a few hours ensures the onions don't get too soft.  If you have barbecue or burgers or Mexican food on the menu, do give them a try.  They're worth it.

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 Quick Pickled Onions

Serves 6-8

½ red onion, thinly sliced

½ cup white vinegar or apple cider vinegar

½ cup water

¾ teaspoon kosher salt

1 ½ tablespoons sugar (or honey or other substitute)

1-2 teaspoons whole spices, optional (any combination of whole peppercorns, fennel seed, cumin, caraway seeds, coriander)

  

Place the vinegar, water, salt, sugar and whole spices in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat.  Simmer 2-3 minutes, stirring.  Remove from the stove and let cool completely.

Place the onions in a jar and pour over the liquid and spices.  Cover tightly and store in the refrigerator for at least an hour and up to 6 hours before use, shaking occasionally.

The pickled onions may be kept in the refrigerator for several days.

Crispy Roasted Chickpeas

Last Year's Post: Salmon Orzo Salad with Lemon and Pea Pods
Two Years Ago:  Manchego Cheese Quesadilla with Pepper Jam

Just because there aren't enough controversies going on in the world at the moment, allow me to add another: how to roast chickpeas.  I recently realized that there are a bunch of recipes out there with the goal of producing a nice, crisp snack, but they all vary - add olive oil before or after roasting?  how long to roast?  add spices before or after roasting?  etc. etc.

For my initial attempt which was to be a garnish on a middle eastern salad, I used the compromise approach of putting the olive oil and spices on the chickpeas midway through roasting, and I roasted them for 50 minutes as specified in the recipe.  The result was hard, crunchy chickpeas with burnt spices.  Yum.

So, I decided to get scientific and compared roasting with and without oil and for various time periods (both without spices, I learned that lesson already).  I also wanted to check on how crisp they were the next day, because one recipe suggested they lose crispness within hours.  I divided one can of chickpeas (which contained 240 chickpeas, by the way) into two camps:  add oil before roasting, and add oil after.

 For each of those two groups, I roasted equal amounts for 20, 30, 40 and 50 minutes respectively.  The results are shown below - the chickpeas roasted with oil are on the bottom, and the ones roasted without are on the top.  From left to right, you can see the results after 20, 30 40 and 50 minutes.

Surprisingly, the addition of oil or not before roasting made no discernible difference in taste or texture.  The chickpeas roasted for 20 minutes changed texture slightly, but I wouldn't call them crisp.  And the ones roasted for 50 minutes were too dark and had a slightly burnt taste.  Both groups roasted for 30 and 40 minutes were crisp, although my personal preference leaned more toward the 30 minute batch.

So, then I added olive and salt to the 30 and 40 minute batches even if they had olive oil before roasting, because it's necessary to make spices stick.  All four tasted great.  And finally, I left them out overnight to test their texture in the morning, and all four remained crisp.  Success!

Having said all that, these crispy chickpeas are a great and healthy snack, and a wonderful garnish for all sorts of other dishes - salads and soups in particular.  You can change the flavor profile by changing the spices to suit any type of cuisine.  Have fun!

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Crispy Roasted Chickpeas

Makes about 1 cup

1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper

1-2 teaspoons spices or finely chopped herbs such as chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, rosemary, thyme, curry powder, etc.

Preheat oven to 400d.

Thoroughly rinse and drain the chickpeas, then spread out on a clean dishtowel and pat dry.  Remove any loose chickpea skins.  Spread the chickpeas in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Roast in the oven for approximately 30-35 minutes until light golden, stirring the chickpeas or shaking the pan every 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven and drizzle with the olive oil, then add salt, pepper and your desired seasonings to taste.  Stir with a spoon to coat evenly, then let cool in a single layer.  When completely cool, store in an airtight container. 

Mini Croutons

Last Year's Post:  Tuscan Barley Soup
Two Years Ago:    Chicken Limone Pasta

I love how croutons can give a nice crunch to salads and soups, but I don't love store-bought croutons in a box.  They're huge, hard as a rock, and way over-seasoned to compensate for the fact that they have no taste.  Other than that, they're perfect.

My solution is to make very small croutons, which you can scatter over the top of your salad for nice little crunchy bits with every bite.  By contrast, store-bought croutons on a salad need to be approached with care and planning or you'll end up at the dentist since they're the approximate size and consistency of a matchbox car.  Small croutons are also perfect as a garnish for soups and even for pastas such as spaghetti with pesto or baked pasta dishes.  Crush some of the croutons in a small bowl with the back of a spoon and sprinkle over vegetables such as green beans or roasted Brussels sprouts for a little extra crunch.

You can use any type of bread for this recipe, and a few leftover slices from a loaf are just perfect.  A dark rye might be a nice color contrast to potato or cauliflower soup, for example.  It helps if the bread is thinly sliced to start since you'll be cutting it into tiny cubes.  I would advise against trying to use a food processor because in my experience they produce uneven results - some big pieces, some small - unless you grind the bread all the way down to crumbs.

Another advantage to making your own croutons is that you can add whatever seasonings you like.  It's fun to experiment with Italian seasonings, garlic salt, french seasonings, or even some chili powder to spice up some croutons for something like beer cheese soup.  I listed garlic salt because it's a good basic flavor that will go with a lot of things but feel free to use whatever you want.

I bake croutons rather than using a fry pan to toast them because I think it's easier to control the amount of browning and the oven produces more uniform results.  Just be sure to watch them closely near the end because they brown pretty fast when they're small.

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Mini Croutons

Makes 2 cups

2 cups bread, preferably thin-sliced, cut into 1/3” cubes (approximate)

¼ teaspoon garlic salt (or other seasonings)

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350d.

Place the bread into a bowl and add the garlic salt or other seasonings.  Toss to combine.  Slowly add the olive oil in a drizzle while stirring, one tablespoon at a time, until all the croutons are evenly coated.  Taste and adjust seasonings if  needed.

Spread the croutons in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Place on the middle rack of the oven for 5 minutes, then stir and return to the oven for an additional 5-8 minutes until golden brown.  Remove and let cool completely.  If desired, blot on paper towels before storing in an airtight container.