Pickled Onionweed Recipe

Like I was saying yesterday, Onionweed is part of the Allium family, just like what you would call 'real' onions. There's no difference, they're all onions. Only that the onionweed has the weedy name, because well, it's very invasive and spreads everywhere, sometimes in an unwanted fashion.

But don't be a fool, this is simply a FREE source of Onions. A Foragers Dream.

When we had those lockdowns a few years ago, I was determined not to go to the supermarket to buy veges. We lasted very well eating only from our garden and what we foraged. Admittedly we ate most of the lawn (plantain, dock, dandelion, clovers, daisies, puha)...

The first thing that we run out of that I really craved, was onions. That is because I start most cooked dishes with sauteed onions...

Luckily, we have onionweed growing wild in the garden (it appeared there on it's own, like most of the 'weeds'), so I simply dug the bulbs up and used them instead of fat brown supermarket onions.

They worked fine! yes they were smaller and a bit different, but I didn't have to go to the supermarket, so I wasn't complaining.

Onionweed bulbs are the perfect size for pickling, and it's really easy to preserve their flavor, which is a great idea, because onionweed doesn't grow in Summer.

Here's how:

Dig up your onion weed bulbs, stalks & flowers, scrub & wash off any dirt.

You can cut off the bulbs & just pickled the bulbs, but I didn't want to waste the leaves & flowers so I pickled them too! (they were delicious, especially in summer when we hadn't seen onionweed for months).

Finely chop stalks & flowers if using & fill a sterilised glass jar (with the bulbs too).

Add 1/2tsp of mustard seeds & 1 crushed garlic clove to each jar then cover

completely with Raw Apple Cider Vinegar.

Leave a month for flavors to infuse, store & use as an onion flavored condiment. Keep in the fridge once opened.

You'll find this recipe & more info on Onionweed in my Wet Season Foraging Guide.