Pickled Sweet Shallots from Roscoff

These delicious pickled shallots have been an essential part of my autumn cooking routine forever and my mother before me.....

Do you remember the French Onion Johnnie's cycling around the villages of Cornwall this time of the year? You will need to be over 60 to do that! Huge strings of onions slung over their handlebars.  Now the shallots come over on the Roscoff ferry, of course and long Roscoff rosy pink shallots are just the best for pickles. They are perfect raw in salads too.

Roscoff shallots are immediately recognisable by their colour
They are not cheap however and these 3 strings cost me £12 but they are definitely worth it.

Just check out the price of the leading brand of pickled sweet shallots?!!!!

I save old jars and wash [in a dishwasher is easiest] before sterilising for a short while in the oven.

The day before.... make up a brine using sea salt. About half a pound to two - three pints of water. Stir to dissolve.
After you have peeled the shallots [these took me almost an hour and a quarter] add to the brine for about 20 - 24 hours.
Place a dinner plate on the top of the shallots to keep them submerged. Yes, this is a pain in the butt, but they will not keep unless soaked overnight.

Then you need to boil your malt vinegar, along with the pickling spices and sugar. I use 1 tablespoon of spices to a pint of vinegar and  4 oz of soft dark brown sugar. But that can be adjusted. Use more spices you like it spicier. I love the richness of brown sugar but you can use castor sugar. The liquid will not be as dark as above.  

Bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and allow to cool before straining the spices.

In the morning rinse the shallots well and dry [I use a couple of clean tea towels] and bottle.

Store for at least 6 - 8 weeks. These will last and be perfect for at least a year.  Probably longer but I have rarely had the chance to find out! If you cannot obtain these shallots, or similar, pickling onions can be substituted. I took the top photo immediately after bottling. They will deepen in colour over the weeks. Absolutely delicious in sandwiches, cold meats, chopped on salads etc.