Doing Acid

Everything is coming up pickled. It is a serious trend (almost as hot as salted desserts). I used to eat my grandma Schaaf’s pickled beans as a kid. I really did not think much of them. They were usually accompanying a ham and mayonnaise sandwich—things were simple. In hindsight, I realize how much I loved those beans.



Marion Street Cheese Market is featuring a pickled cucumber salad in Oak Park; River Valley Kitchens is pickling brussels sprouts and selling them at the Daley Plaza Farmer's Market (for the next two weeks); and the Birchwood Kitchen is pickling grapes in Wicker Park. People are devoted to the salty, sour tang of all things pickled. This acidic flavor punch is a style that is not timid or going away anytime soon.



Pickles are so familiar, but now the method is hip. So, get pickling this fall; it’s the oldest trick in the book, but it's cool, delicious, and certainly good stuff.

Pickled Red Onions

Ingredients:
2 large red onions – julienne
1 large shallot
1 ½ cups red wine vinegar
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup water
2 fresh thyme sprigs
fresh bay leaf
pinch of crushed red pepper or aleppo pepper flakes
pinch of kosher salt

Combine the red wine vinegar, sugar, water, thyme, bay leaf, red pepper and salt in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. In a tall container combine the red onions with the vinegar mixture. Cover and chill for at least a day.

Skillet Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:
3 large sweet potatoes—use the tines of a fork to create small holes
olive oil
s and p

Heat oven to 400. Cook the potatoes until soft ~ 40 minutes. Or if you are short on time, cook in the microwave. Chop the potatoes and toss in a cast iron skillet over medium to high heat with olive oil and the pickled red onions. Season with salt and pepper.