Pickled Red Onion

I'm a fan of just about anything pickled. Last Thursday we met some friends at Resurrection Ale House in Philadelphia where they've got a great pickle plate as an appetizer, all house-made pickles, and each with different flavorings. The watermelon pickles, for example, weren't those sugary, gelatinous monstrosities you find in jars at Amish atalls. Instead, these were barely sweet, with wih a hint of cardomom. The plate also included some nice beet slices, bread-and-butter pickles (again, not too sweet) and one or two others I can't remember.

People think it takes a lot of effort and/or time to create pickles. It ain't necessarily so. A Scandinavian style cucumber pickle is just the veggie plus sugar and vinegar and can be made after lunch and ready for an early dinner. Even just letting them sit in the fridge for an hour will result in a great flavor.

Sunday evening I took half of a beautiful red onion I bought at that day's Headhouse Farmers' Market to my mandoline, producing as thin slices as possible. I put about half a cup of vinegar in pan, added no more than half cup white sugar and stirred over medium heat until the sugar melted. I then poured the liquid over the onions (in a non-reactive bowl, i.e., not aluminum, please), covered with plastic wrap and stuck it in the fridge.

The next day they were a tremendous accompaniment to some low-fat cheese on a composed salad plate. Today they went with some pickled herring.

What, did I hear, is a composed salad? Just what it sounds like. The antithesis of a mixed salad. All your components are arranged on a plate as you see fit: some can be laid one atop the other, others you might want along the side. Doesn't matter: whatever suits your taste and eye. A well composed composed salad has lots of eye appeal and can bring out the artist in us.