Quick Pickled Onions or Cucumbers

Makes about ¾ cup brine (enough for 1 medium onion or 1 large cucumber)

This is a quick no-cook brine that you can use to make pickled cucumbers or onions, just what you want when you’re thinking sandwiches, salads or a picnic. The brine recipe is for a small amount — it’s enough to pickle one onion or English cucumber. You can multiply it as needed.

• For the brine
• ½ cup (120 ml) cider vinegar
• 5 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• For pickling
• 1 medium onion (a red onion is nice here) or 1 English (seedless) cucumber

Working Ahead

You can refrigerate the onions tightly covered for about 1 week. The cucumbers will keep for no more than 3 days, since after that, they will soften in the brine.

To make the brine: Combine all the ingredients in a bowl or jar and stir until the sugar and salt dissolve.

To pickle the vegetables: If using an onion, cut it in half from top to bottom and then cut each half into thin half-moon slices. Rinse under cold water and pat dry. If using a cucumber, peel it or just scrub it, trim the ends, cut it lengthwise into quarters and cut each quarter into 1- to 2-inch-long chunks. Or cut the cucumber into rounds to make pickle chips.

Add the onion or cucumber to the brine, stirring the pieces around so that the liquid covers them. Let the slices or chunks pickle for at least 30 minutes before serving. If you’re not going to use the pickles now, pack them into a jar (if you haven’t already), cover and refrigerate. 

onions, shallots and garlic

To help get all the good flavor from onions and shallots, I take a quick extra step at prep time. After I’ve sliced or chopped them, I rinse them under cold water and then pat them dry. The short rinse washes away the bitter liquid that’s drawn out when you cut them. If I’m using the onion (or shallot) raw in a salad, I sometimes rinse it and then let the slices sit in a bowl of cold water — the chill gives them added crunch.

Unless I’m using whole garlic cloves, smashed or otherwise, I always cut each peeled clove in half the long way so that I can chisel out the green germ that runs the length of it. I learned this trick years ago when I was working with the chef Daniel Boulud, who had learned it years before when he was an apprentice in France. Removing the germ tones down garlic’s brashest flavors, and it may make the garlic more easily digestible — the jury’s still out on that.

 

hard-boiled eggs

Hard-boiled eggs, so simple, so nutritious and so versatile, can also be so frustrating. Sometimes they don’t peel easily. Sometimes they peel perfectly and then you cut them in half and the yolks have a dark line around them, indicating that they’re overcooked. These two ways of boiling eggs are the best I’ve found and turn out the most consistently good results. If it makes you feel any better, sometimes it’s the egg, not you.

The boil-and-wait method: Put the eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water by at least 2 inches; salt the water. (Salt tends to keep the eggs from cracking and the whites from popping out.) Bring the water to a full rolling boil over high heat, then turn off the heat, cover the pan and let the setup sit on the warm burner for 12 minutes. When your timer dings, drain the eggs and place them in a bowl with ice cubes and cold water to stop the cooking. After a couple of minutes, the eggs are yours to do with as you wish.

If you have an induction range, you might want to opt for the steam method, below. Or you can turn the heat to the lowest setting for the rest period.

The steam method: Bring an inch or so of water to a boil in a pot over medium heat. Fit the pot with a steamer rack. Lay your eggs in the steamer, cover and steam the eggs for 12 minutes. When time’s up, transfer the eggs to a bowl with ice cubes and cold water and let them cool for a few minutes before using them.

The unshelled eggs can be refrigerated for up to 1 week.