Beautiful and bright Green Onions of Spring (and some Great Green Garlic too!). So pretty and fresh and fleeting. On this little island a traditional salted onion is put up for use in the dark days of Winter and it goes by the name – Herbes salées. This hearty Onion preserve is eaten with Fish and used as a soup stock base (one intrepid fellow actually puts this rather robust concoction on sandwiches!).
This is a little tutorial for a lacto-fermented version that uses a wee bit less salt and has the tangy flavour of very nice Pickled Onions.
You will need:
- A wide mouthed mason jar (and a jelly jar or clean stone)
- Fresh Spring Onions (Green Garlic works well for this too!)
- Course salt (in a ratio of about two tablespoons salt to five pounds of onions)
Chop your onions and the green tops into whatever size you wish to use them in. Fill the mason jar with alternating layers of chopped onion and course salt until almost full and then tamp the mixture down quite firmly and place a jelly jar filled with water on the pickle to weigh the chopped onion down. You should almost immediately find that you have enough brine to cover the onions. If this does not happen add a few tablespoons of boiled tepid water (you can also make this pickle with a brine if your onions are not quite Garden-fresh).
You can remove the jelly jar when your onions are staying reasonably well submerged. Cap your mason jar with a lid and ring and let the pickle ferment on the counter for three to seven days. It is wise to un-cap your jar to let the pressure out a couple of times a day (not making bombs here after all…). When you are satisfied that fermentation is complete place your lovely Onion Pickles in the fridge or in another quite cool location.
Just like Pickled Cabbage it is done when it tastes good to you. The longer you let it ferment the more “sour” it will become. You can easily vary this kind of pickle by adding hot Peppers or spices but the simple version is awfully nice too.