This is the first of my “quickle” recipes from which the rest derive. These always seem to disappear so fast, and I am always interested to see what they get used for. Once you have done this, you’ll find it takes longer to read the recipe than execute it. This is another dish where a Ben-Riner or mandolin is really helpful, or a razor sharp knife is essential.
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups medium to large shallots, peeled 1 scant tablespoon coarse kosher salt, or some other coarse grained salt 1 cup rice vinegar ½ cup heaping granulated sugar
METHOD:
Slice the root and the tip end off, and then thinly slice the shallots into rings around 1/8th to 3/16th inch.
In a non-reactive bowl, carefully break up the shallot slices into rings and then sprinkle enough of the salt to lightly coat all the pieces. Use your fingers to toss the shallot rings around to coat. Allow the shallot rings to rest until starting to soften a little, around 5-10 minutes.
While the shallots are bathing in the salt, mix the sugar and vinegar together. You can do this in a jar or a non-reactive bowl with a whisk. Mix until the sugar is no longer visible. Taste the solution for balance-it should be neither very sweet nor too tart. Adjust with vinegar or sugar as needed.
After 5 minutes, feel the shallots; they should no longer feel brittle and will have softened a little. If not, leave a few more minutes. When ready, have a fine meshed strainer ready and rinse the shallot rings in the bowl with cool water, pouring out the water until the shallots no longer feel salty. Taste one to be sure you have rinsed away the excess salt. A little salty taste to the shallots is fine, but you do not want to taste salt on the outside of the ring or a lot of salt. Shake the shallot rings to shed as much water as you can, then roll them in paper towels to blot more water.
When the shallots are fairly dry, add to the “pickling” mix. You want to have the shallots below the surface of the liquid. The shallots will soften a bit and will seem to shrink a little. This is fine.
The shallots should be ready to use within 30 minutes. Store in the refrigerator.
Chef’s Notes:
These get used for many things. They are great on sandwiches, for topping steaks, grilled sausages, and burgers, in tuna salad, on smoked salmon and bagels or even on mashed potatoes. They are a great foil for anything that is fatty or rich. They keep around 5-6 days before they start to get soft, and you can use the pickling solution one more time.
Yield: Around 1 1/2 cups
Source: Chef Andrew E Cohen
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
