Besides being delicious, these little onions, when lacto-fermented, are poppable probiotic-rich shots of an immune booster.
20 minutes
180 minutes
4
INGREDIENTS AND EQUIPMENT AVAILABLE AT CULTURES FOR HEALTH
INGREDIENTS:
- 1½ tsp. sea salt
- 1 quart unchlorinated water
- 2 Tbsp. mustard seeds
- 2 Tbsp. black peppercorns
- 2 lbs. pearl onions
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 sprigs tarragon
- 1-2 black currant or grape leaves
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Make a brine by dissolving sea salt in water.
- Mix the mustard seeds with the peppercorns in a little bowl and set it aside.
- Peel the pearl onions carefully and rinse thoroughly in cold water.
- Sprinkle a bit of the mustard/peppercorn mixture into the bottom of a clean quart jar. Add a layer of onions. Fill the jar by layering onions and sprinkled-in layers of the spices.
- Once the jar is full, slide the tarragon and bay leaves into the jar, against the sides.
- Pour the chilled brine over the onions and spices, filling the jar to 1 inch below the rim. Cover the onions with the grape or currant leaves; add a fermentation weight on top of the leaves to keep the onions submerged in the brine.
- Seal the jar tightly with a lid or airlock and ferment away from drafts and direct sunlight for about 2 to 3 days at room temperature, or until the brine turns cloudy.
- When the brine begins to get cloudy, move the jar to cold storage (cellar or refrigerator).
