Zuni Cafés Red Onion Pickles Recipes

RED ONION PICKLES

Steps:

• To make the brine: In a medium saucepan, combine vinegar, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, dried chili, star anise, bay leaves, and peppercorns. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 3 minutes. Turn off heat, and let stand until cool to allow the spices to infuse the brine.
• Peel onions, trim ends, and slice 3/8 inch thick. Separate the slices into rings, discarding any green sprouts and thin, leathery outer rings.
• Uncover the brine, and bring to a boil over high heat. Immediately add about one-third of the onion rings, and stir. They should turn hot pink almost immediately. As soon as the brine begins to simmer, about 20 seconds, stir them again, and remove from the heat. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, immediately remove the onions and spread on a baking sheet to cool. The onions should still be firm. Repeat with remaining onions, in two batches.
• Once the onions have cooled, repeat the entire process in step three, exactly as above, and cooling between batches, twice more. After the third round of blanching, chill the brine, and then add the pickled onions. This process saturates the onions with fragrant brine without really cooking them, and guarantees that the color sets to a fuscia pink.
• Transfer to sterilized jars, cover, and store, refrigerated, for up to 3 months.

ZUNI CAFé'S ZUCCHINI PICKLES

Steps:

• With a mandolin, cut zucchini lengthwise (or crosswise, if you prefer) in 1/16-inch slices. Cut onion crosswise the same thickness.
• Place zucchini and onion in a low wide bowl, toss with salt and cover with ice water. Add a few ice cubes. Leave for 1 hour, until faintly salty and slightly softened when tasted. Drain, discard ice and dry vegetables thoroughly between kitchen towels. Rinse and dry bowl.
• Make the brine: Combine vinegar, sugar, dry mustard, mustard seeds and turmeric in a nonreactive saucepan, and simmer over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes. Turn off heat and set aside until just warm to the touch.
• Return zucchini to the bowl and pour cooled brine over, then stir to distribute spices.
• Transfer mixture and brine to pint jars and refrigerate for at least a day before serving.

ZUNI CAFé ZUCCHINI PICKLES

Steps:

• Wash and trim the zucchini, then slice them one-sixteenth-inch thick; a mandoline works best. Slice the onion very thin as well.
• Combine the zucchini and onions in a large but shallow nonreactive bowl, add the salt and toss to distribute. Add a few ice cubes and cold water to cover, then stir to dissolve the salt.
• After about 1 hour, taste and feel a piece of zucchini -- it should be slightly softened. Drain and pat dry.
• Combine the vinegar, sugar, dry mustard, mustard seeds and turmeric in a small saucepan and simmer for 3 minutes. Set aside until just warm to the touch. (If the brine is too hot, it will cook the vegetables and make the pickles soft instead of crisp.).
• Return the zucchini to a dry bowl and pour over the cooled brine. Stir to distribute the spices. Transfer the pickle to jars, preferably ones that have "shoulders" to hold the zucchini and onions beneath the surface of the brine. Seal tightly and refrigerate for at least a day before serving to allow the flavors to mellow and permeate the zucchini, turning them a brilliant chartreuse color.