Pickled Onions

A salad with pretty pickled onions.

It takes less than an hour, just a few ingredients and a microwave to make delicious homemade pickled onions.

The sweet and tangy onions are a nice addition to salads and sandwiches but they are so good that I usually find myself eating them straight up.

The pretty violet color of the pickled onions screams Spring and would be a perfect addition to your Easter table.

Here's the recipe:

Pickled Onions
2 large red onions
1 2/3 cups apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Kosher salt plus 1 teaspoon
1 tablespoon sugar plus 1 teaspoon

Peel, halve and cut the red onions into 1/8 to 1/4-inch wide slices and place them in a medium-sized glass bowl that is microwave safe.

Sliced onions that are ready for apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons of Kosher salt and 1 tablespoon of sugar.

Add the apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons of salt and 1 tablespoon of sugar and mix well to evenly coat the onions and help break them apart.

Place the bowl in the microwave and cook on high for 5 minutes. Remove and give the onions a mix.

After 5 minutes in the microwave, they will look like this. Give them a good mix and return them to the microwave to cook for another 5 minutes.

Repeat this process three more times for a total cooking time of 20 minutes. It's important to mix the onions after each 5 minute interval of cooking.

After cooking for a total of 20 minutes, the onions will look like this.

Let the onions cool in the bowl, covered with plastic wrap for 10 minutes.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the onions sit for 10 minutes.

Place the onions in a colander and rinse them for just 5 seconds under cold running water and drain. You can reserve the vinegar mixture for another batch of pickled onions or for mixing with olive oil for salad dressing.

Rinsed and drained pickled onions.

Once the onions are drained, put them into a smaller bowl and toss with the remaining teaspoons of salt and sugar.

Once the onions are tossed with the remaining teaspoons of Kosher salt and sugar, they are ready to enjoy.

Store the onions in the refrigerator. They are best used within 10 days after making them.