onion relish

When you host a gathering, you never know what will be The Thing that gets people’s attention. 

At the hot dog roast at my brother’s house during the family gathering, turned out it was a jar of onions that garnered the most chatter. I hadn’t even noticed them (I didn’t eat a hot dog so I didn’t pay attention to the condiment tray), but then I overheard, These are amazing! What is in them? How did you make them? So I had to see what all the fuss was about. 

I scooped some of the onions onto a potato chip to sample. The onions were gently sweet with just a tiny kiss of acid, and they were jammy-soft with a slight crunch. I could’ve spooned them from the jar straight into my mouth. 

After everyone left, my brother texted a photo of the half-full jar of zucchini relish that I’d contributed to the supper. “Want to trade for onion relish?”

Uh … yessss!

And then I made an amazing discovery: grilled cheese stuffed with onion relish. Typically, I love me a thick layer of sweet pickles with my grilled cheese, but these onions, good grief. I couldn’t pack the sandwich full enough. 

I made a batch of onion relish this weekend, and then I made another round of grilled cheese. We also ate the onion relish on our Sunday lunch of beans and rice and my Monday eggs and beans. I imagine it’d be fabulous over scrambled eggs, too, or on a salad, stuffed into subs, on a cheeseburger, etc, etc. 

Onion Relish
Adapted from my brother’s recipe.

All amounts are guesstimates: play around. (Optional variations at the bottom.)

2 cups of chopped onion
¼ cup white vinegar, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon dried basil

Put the chopped onions and 2 tablespoons of the vinegar in a microwaveable bowl and cover with water. Microwave for 2 minutes. Drain the onions, give them a quick rinse, and drain again. 

Place the drained onions in a bowl and add the remaining vinegar, brown sugar, olive oil, and dried basil. Toss to combine. Transfer to a jar and store in the refrigerator. (No idea how long these last in the fridge. Haven’t gotten that far yet.)

Options to play around with, if you so desire: 

• The quantity and type of vinegar — I bet apple cider vinegar would be good
• Different herbs, like oregano, chives, parsley, or go wild and use fresh 
• Cook them a little longer or shorter, depending on the desired crunch level 
• Omit the sugar, or swap it out for white sugar, maple syrup, or honey

This same time, years previous: yoga sol, try and keep up, so much milk, in the bedroom, Black lives matter, the quotidian (6.3.19), mama said, this is us, brown sugar rhubarb muffins, when the studies end, a bunch of stuff, berry almond baked oatmeal.