Sweet Pickled Onions

Although this recipe is for a quantity of pickled onions, but is equally good for pickled eggs and gherkins! Due to soaking time this needs to be made over two days.

2lb small pickling onions

3 dessert spoons of rock salt (I use Himalayan Pink Salt for everything)

Large bottle of Malt Vinegar (doesn't need to be an expensive or 'pickling' vinegar)

1 tsp dried chilli

1 tsp whole cloves

1 large or 2 small cinnamon sticks

1 inch chunk fresh ginger

2 tsp whole black peppercorns

3 heaped dessertspoons of dark brown sugar

Day One

Place unpeeled onions into a large saucepan or cauldron. Bring a kettle of water to the boil and pour over the onions. Allow to stand in the boiling water for two or three minutes, but no longer. (You don't want the onions to actually start cooking.)

Fill another large bowl with cold water and after the onions have soaked in the hot water for their three minutes use a slotted spoon to transfer them to the cold water. This is to allow them to cool a bit before you peel them.  You will notice that the boiled water has turned yellow and this used to be used as a natural dye! 

In another clean bowl place the salt and fill with fresh water. The water will dissolve as much of the salt as it needs, so don't worry if you still have salt crystals at the bottom of the bowl. Take the onions one at a time to peel, top and tail them. They can be put into the salt water and left at least 12 hours if not overnight.

Day Two

Put the vinegar into a saucepan with the sugar and spices. Bring to the boil, take of the heat and leave to cool some. 

Take your jars (sterilized with hot water or a sterilizing solution accordingly) and place near the sink. Place your salted onions into a sieve and rinse thoroughly under the tap. Drop straight into the jars, leaving a gap of about an inch from the top.

By now your vinegar should have cooled sufficiently not to crack the glass, but still take care with the hot liquid. I also advise you not to be tempted to sniff it as it an be quite potent! Using a ladle, scoop up the spiced vinegar and some of the pickling spices, then poor over the onions in their jars. I don't usually add all the spices as things like the cinnamon sticks can take up quite a lot of room, but certainly a few spoonfuls of the smaller ones and the odd slice of ginger make the finished piece look very appetizing and will continue to add flavour for a little while after. Once the last onion is covered you can seal the lid and leave on a shelf to mature. They are edible immediately, but left for a week they will be richer in taste.

Autumn Pear and Spiced Cranberry Relish

A great Autumn/Winter preserve. Especially good eaten with a cheese platter and oatcakes, maybe with a wee glass of Port ;-) 

Ingredients to make roughly four 250g jars

1 onion, finely chopped

1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated

6 fl oz raspberry or cider vinegar

5 oz caster sugar

2 garlic cloves, sliced

½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground coriander

½ tsp ground allspice

1 small tsp dried chilli

11 oz dried cranberries

4 pears, cored and cubed, peel left on

Put all the ingredients except the pear in a non-reactive saucepan with a pinch of salt. Bring slowly to a simmer, stirring to make sure all the sugar has dissolved. Add the pear and continue cooking until the mixture has the consistency of thick jam.

Sterilize your jars.

Spoon the hot relish into still hot jars and seal. Leave to cool.

They will keep in a cool, dark place for up to 6 months. Once opened, relish is best eaten within 2 months.

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Medieval Sweet Onion Tart

Ingredients

Pastry for a 12 inch quiche tin

8oz onions or shallots, finely sliced

2oz butter

1/2 pint double cream

pinch of saffron

2 eggs

2 egg yolks

pinch each of ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon

2 tsp sugar

Method

Roll out pastry and line a twelve inch quiche tin. Bake blind at 190 C for 15 minutes. Leave to cool. 

Fry the onions/shallots in the butter until caramelized. In a separate pan, bring the double cream to the boil, take off the heat and add the saffron. Leave to infuse for five minutes.

In a clean bowl whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, spices and sugar. Add the onions/shallots, then the cream and stir together. 

Pour into the cooled pastry case and bake at 190 C for 30 minutes or so until set.

Fruity Gingerbread

This gingerbread is made extra moist by the addition of bananas and golden raisins. It can be made in a shallow baking tin or square, loose bottomed cake tin - whichever you have to hand. Before you start line your tin with baking parchment.

Ingredients

10oz plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
4 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp mixed spice
4 oz soft light brown sugar
4 tbsp sunflour oil
2 tbsp black treacle
2 tbsp malt extract
2 eggs, lightly beaten
4 tbsp fruit juice (orange or pineapple will do)
3 ripe bananas
4 oz golden raisins

For this recipe you will need an oven pre-heated to 180 C or 350 F.

The flour, bicarb and spices can be sifted into a good sized mixing bowl. Scoop some of the sifted mixture back into the sieve and add the sugar. By mixing a little of the flour with the sugar it will break it up and make it easier to push through the sieve.

Hollow out a hole in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the oil, treacle, malt, eggs and juice. A good tip is to add the oil first, as the oil that is left on spoon will make the treacle and malt slide off, when it would other wise stick so badly you get into a big mess!

At this stage it looks far from appetising, but rest assured it does improve! Mix thoroughly until it looks combined.

Set aside and get out a plate. Using a fork, mash the bananas on the plate until it looks even and mushy.

Add the raisins and mashed bananas to the mixing bowl and stir until it is sully mixed in.

Pour the mix into the prepared cake tin, making sure it neatly pushed into the corners and does not escape around the edges of the baking parchment.

Bake for 40 or so minutes. The time will greatly depend on your oven, so its best to check on it every five or ten minutes from the half hour mark just to make sure its cooking evenly. My oven takes about 45 minutes.

When the top is looking cooked press it lightly and see if it springs back. If it does it should be done. You can try the knife test, but it is difficult to tell for sure this way as the bananas stay moist after cooking, so the knife may not come out clean. Allow to rest a while before turning out onto a cooling wire.

Gingerbreads tend to develop a more mature flavour after a day or so, but it is equally yummy if eaten while still warm!