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Pink pickled onions

Name: Pink pickled onions
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Yield: Makes enough to fill a 250ml sterilised jar
Ingredients: 1 red onion, very finely sliced into half moons; Juice 5 limes; ½ tsp cumin seeds; ½ tsp caster sugar; 1 garlic clove, finely chopped

By: Tom Shingler
Head of food, delicious.

Published: 27 Jul 22
Updated: 18 Mar 24

Learn how to make pink pickled onions with this easy recipe. Use the bright pink, tangy onions to adorn burgers, salads and tacos.

Add a few pickled onions to this epic Kiwi beef burger with pickled beetroot and a fried egg.

Easy
2022

Test kitchen approved

Makes enough to fill a 250ml sterilised jar
Hands-on time 5 min, plus pickling

Learn how to make pink pickled onions with this easy recipe. Use the bright pink, tangy onions to adorn burgers, salads and tacos.

Add a few pickled onions to this epic Kiwi beef burger with pickled beetroot and a fried egg.

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 16kcals
Fat: 0.1g (0g saturated)
Protein: 0.4g
Carbohydrates: 2.9g (2.4g sugars)
Fibre: 0.7g
Salt: 0.1g

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Ingredients

1 red onion, very finely sliced into half moons
Juice 5 limes
½ tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp caster sugar
1 garlic clove, finely chopped

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Method

Put the sliced onions in a heatproof bowl and boil a kettle. Pour boiling water over the onions, leave them to sit for 20 seconds, then drain.
Return the drained onions to the bowl and add the lime juice, cumin seeds, sugar, garlic and a big pinch of salt. Stir to combine, ensuring the onions are fully submerged in lime juice, then cover and leave to pickle for at least 20 minutes. Store in the fridge and eat within 1 week.

Recipe from 2022 Issue

Nutrition

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 16kcals
Fat: 0.1g (0g saturated)
Protein: 0.4g
Carbohydrates: 2.9g (2.4g sugars)
Fibre: 0.7g
Salt: 0.1g

delicious. tips

This recipe is easily scaled up – fill a jar with them and use them to adorn all sorts of tacos, sandwiches and salads.
These onions are ready to eat after 20 minutes but make them up to 3 days in advance for a more pronounced, almost fluorescent pink colour.
Pouring boiling water on raw sliced onions removes some of their astringency and breaks them down a little, making it easier for the lime juice to do its pickling magic. Try this method whenever you’re serving raw onions in salads or burgers to mellow out their raw flavour.