Courtesy of Molly Wizenberg, adapted from The Zuni Café Cookbook

“There’s no denying that the recipe has a lot of steps, but each of them is easy, so don’t be tempted to cut corners,” says Molly. “The process of repeatedly blanching and cooling ensures that the pickled onions are softened but still delectably crisp, as a good pickle should be.

A few picky notes about ingredients and procedure:

• Use round or flat red onions that feel firm. Do not use torpedo onions, whose layers are too thin to make for a properly crunchy pickle.
• Use a pot made of stainless steel or another nonreactive material, such as anodized aluminum.
• Use wooden spoons. Aluminum would, warns The Zuni Café Cookbook–author Judy Rodgers, turn the onions an ‘unappetizing bluish mauve.’ Nobody wants to eat a pickle that’s the same color as your grandmother’s bath towels.
• Serve them with a drizzle of good olive oil, which tames their vinegar tang with a lovely, rich finish. We like to eat them as an hors d’oeuvre, with fresh goat cheese or slices of sharp cheddar and crackers. They’re delicious with grilled meats—hamburgers, flank steak, chicken, etc.—and also, I’ll bet, with chicken liver paté.”

By David Alan 

By Iliana de la Vega 

Recipe by David Alan

Photograph by Jenna Noel

by Jesse Griffiths

Photography by Jody Horton

This rich, earthy gratin could stand on its own at a meatless Thanksgiving celebration as well as being a perfect foil for roasted bison. Make this a day ahead and reheat it when you’re ready to serve. Serves 8.

Courtesy of Karen Rayne

By Jesse Griffiths 

Courtesy of Terri Burney-Bisett of CasiNada Cooks, Wimberley