Yucatán-Style Pickled Red Onions
Cebollas Encurtidas a la Yucateca
Makes about 2 cups Preparation Time: 10 minutes, plus marinating time Keeps covered and refrigerated for up to 1 month
Mildly spicy, tangy, and surprisingly crunchy, these pickled onions are a permanent fixture on every table in the Yucatán Peninsula and will be a revelation at your table. At my home, they find their way into toasted sandwiches, or turn up atop rice, alongside tacos, quesadillas, enchiladas, and scrambled eggs, and they’re a refreshing topping for refried beans. They are also a faithful companion to anything that contains achiote paste (see the sidebar), like my Mexican Thanksgiving Turkey. The best part? The pickles take only 10 minutes to make and they keep for weeks in the refrigerator.
- 1 cup bitter orange juice (see the sidebar) or a mixture of ¼ cup each grapefruit juice, orange juice, lime juice, and distilled white vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon kosher or coarse sea salt, or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large red onion, thinly sliced (2 cups)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 banana pepper or jalapeño or serrano chile
- Place the bitter orange juice, allspice, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl and mix well. Stir in the red onion and bay leaves.
- Char or broil the banana pepper under the broiler, on a hot comal, in a dry skillet over medium heat, or on an outdoor grill, turning once or twice, until the skin is lightly charred, 3 to 6 minutes.
- Add the pepper, without removing the charred skin, to the onion mixture and toss well. Let marinate at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 hours, before serving.
MEXICAN COOK’S TRICK: Pickled red onions are traditionally made with banana peppers, also called güeros (slang for “blonde”) or x’catic, in the Mayan language. You can substitute a jalapeño or serrano chile.