recipes to try
my mum's pickled onions
2kg pickling onions
5 cups (1 and 1/4 litres) vinegar
3/4 cup honey or 1 cup sugar (brown or white)
1/2 tablespoon salt
1 tablepoon spices
2 or 3 slices of green ginger (optional)
Extra salt (optional)
To peel onions easily, pour boiling water over them and leave to stand 30 to 45 seconds. Drain, then cover with a large amount of cold water, then remove skin.
Sprinkle onions with a quarter cup of plain salt if desired. Turn them occasionally and leave to stand for 2-3 hours. At the end of this time wash and drain them.
Pack onions into sterilized jars or a very clean crock.
Bring the vinegar to boiling point with the honey or whatever coloured sugar you use. Turn off heat as soon as mixture boils. If you are spicing your vinegar, add 1-2 tbsps pickling spice or whatever you like. Leave to cool.
Pour the cold sweetened vinegar mixture over the onions. Cover using screw topped plastic lids if available. It is not necessary to exclude all air, but vinegar corrodes metal and vinegar evaporates through cellophane lids.
Store in a cool dark place. Try to wait 2 weeks before using for the flavour to develop.
Leek, potato and cauliflower soup
1 Organic Onion, finely chopped
1 Organic Leek, sliced
1/3 Organic Cauliflower, finely chopped
4 medium Organic Potatoes, peeled and cut into pieces
2 cloves of Organic Garlic, crushed or cut finely
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 litre of stock (I used Rapunzel Organic Vegetable bouillon - 1 tsp to 1 litre of water)
Gently cook the onions and leeks in olive oil in a large pot. When they have softened add the cauliflower, potatoes and garlic. Pour the stock over the vegetables - it should be enough liquid so that all the veges are covered. Cover with a lid and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Use a handheld stick mixer to blend it. If you don't have a blender just use a potato masher to mash it together, this will give a chunkier style soup. This soup is delicious with fresh homemade bread Serve it with a sprinkle of grated cheese on top and some freshly ground pepper. Freeze any soup that you have left over.