If there was one condiment I couldn’t live without, pickled red onions would be fighting it out for top spot (possibly alongside homemade chilli sauce). Over the past few years it’s something I always have in my fridge, I feel anxious when I’m all out. See the thing is, this unassuming and incredibly simple little thing can make even the most ho-hum of dishes into something truly special. It elevates good food into the realm of deliciousness.
Here I’ve paired them with protein-rich buckwheat, golden roasted pumpkin (or squash for my North American readers), handfuls of herbs and a zippy little sumac yoghurt. It’s exactly the kind of hearty winter salad I crave at this time of the year.
Buckwheat is a naturally gluten-free grain (ignore the ‘wheat’ part of its name) from the same family as rhubarb and sorrel. Like many other grains, it’s high in protein, iron, zinc and B vitamins, as well as selenium. It’s great in soups and stews or can be sprouted and used in salads, granolas and porridge.
Serves 4-6
180g (1 cup) raw buckwheat groats
1 small butternut pumpkin (squash)
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
The juice of 1/2 lemon
Small handful flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Small handful mint leaves, roughly chopped
Pickled red onion
1 medium red onion, finely sliced
60ml (1/4 cup) apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon unrefined raw sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
Sumac yoghurt
125ml (1/2 cup) plain Greek-style yoghurt
1 small clove garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sumac
To cook Buckwheat, bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil, add buckwheat and cook 10-12 minutes or until tender (it will still have some bite). Drain well and set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 200C (400F). Peel and de-seed pumpkin (squash), then slice into small wedges. Transfer to an oven tray, drizzle with half the olive oil, season and roast for 30-40 minutes or until tender and golden.
While the pumpkin is roasting, prepare the pickled red onion. Place the sliced red onion in a shallow bowl and roughly break up into single strands using your hands. Combine apple cider vinegar, sugar, and sea salt in a small saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring often to dissolve the sugar. Once boiling, remove from the heat and immediately pour over the onion. Set aside to cool, stirring occasionally.
To make the sumac yoghurt, place all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
To assemble salad, place cooked buckwheat, pumpkin, the remaining olive oil, lemon juice and herbs in a bowl and mix well. Divide between bowl, top with drained pickled onion and dollop with sumac yoghurt.
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4 Responses
YUM, made it today for lunch! Thanks for reminding me how simple pickled onions are to make, but most importantly how that make every meal. Will become part of my weekly routine.
Hi Bek!
I’m SO stoked you made this already and loved it. Aren’t those onions magic? xx
The flavour of roasted pumpkin and pickle red onion are really good. i love it. Thanks for your sharing!
You’re welcome! x