I always soak them in salted water overnight, its supposed to keep them crunchy. Does anyone know why the middle pops out?? It drives me nuts.
About six weeks should do it!
PICKLED ONIONS
1 kg pickling onions
750ml vinegar
240gm sugar
30gm peppercorns
12 cloves
1 dessertspoon salt
30gm whole spice
1 level teaspoon ground ginger
Peel onions, wash and dry well. Pack tightly in jars. Boil vinegar, spices, salt and sugar gently for 10 minutes, allow to cool. Pour vinegar etc, over onions, covering well. Cover jars. Keep for 4 - 6 weeks before using.
Next on the agenda was the beetroot. I'd been looking at it for a while thinking 'I must pull and pickle that'. It was so nice to be out in the garden again. I'd really missed doing the things that make me ME.
I always leave a few centimetres of the stalk and also the roots of the beetroot to stop the colour from bleeding.
I didn't get as much up as I thought I would so planted a heap more seeds and have just transplanted them all out. Beetroot is one of Matthews favourite!
BEETROOT (PICKLED)
Beetroot
1 dessertspoon salt
30gm whole pepper
1 dozen cloves
1/2 cup sugar
1 litre of vinegar
Cook the beetroot. When cool enough to handle, rub off the skin, chop or slice, and fill sterilised jars. Prepare sufficient vinegar to cover, by boiling with spices and sugar. Boil 10 minutes slowly, strain, and pour while hot over the beetroot. When cold, seal. Wait 4 - 6 weeks before eating.
Its good being back into the swing of things.
While I'm sharing recipes, I'll sneak in what we had for lunch. Its a Mushroom Nut Loaf. It came from a lovely young couple who used to live next door in their shed. Absolutely scrumptious. I like it just warmed on a nice stack of lettuce.
MUSHROOM NUT LOAF
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
300gm mushrooms, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups brazil nuts
1 1/3 cups cashews
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 egg, beaten
2 tbsp chopped chives
1 cup breadcrumbs
Preheat oven to 180C. Grease loaf tin (I line with baking paper for easy lifting out). Fry onion, garlic and mushrooms, place in bowl and cool. Bake brazil and cashew nuts. Cool, then process. Combine nuts, mushroom mixture, cheeses, eggs, chives and breadcrumbs. Mix well and press firmly into tin. Bake for 45 minutes or until firm. Leave to cool. Lift out (or upend onto tray if you didn't line the tin). Cut into slices.
It's one of our favourites, although the kids aren't that keen on it.
Well, its taken me several days to get the time to finish this post. Life is crazy at the moment, but I've got so much to tell I just might do another one later!
Have a fantastic day :)
