When serving a meat dish like roast leg of lamb it’s nice to accompany it with some bright acidic flavors like citrus, vinegar and yogurt to help cut through some of the richness of the meat.
For me, the perfect garnish is some quick pickled red onions with sugar, white vinegar and star anise.
Quick pickling the red onions
Ingredients:
- 1 small red onion thinly sliced root to top
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup white vinegar
- 2 tblsp granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp toasted cumin seeds
- 1 star anise pod (optional)
- pinch of salt and pepper
Toast the ¼ tsp cumin seeds in a pan on medium heat. Should only take a few minutes for you to smell the cumin and that’s when you know it’s done. Remove the seeds from the heat and add to a small microwave-safe bowl.
To the seeds add ½ cup water, ½ cup white vinegar, 2 tblsp granulated sugar, 1 star anise pod, salt and pepper. Heat this in the microwave for 30 seconds until warm. Stir the contents and reheat for another 30 second and stir again. Repeat in 30 seconds intervals until the sugar is dissolved.
Add the sliced red onion and toss everything together.
The color from the red onions will bleed into the pickling juice and they’ll start to turn pink like this.
