Quick-Pickled Vegetable Salad

Name: Quick-Pickled Vegetable Salad
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1 small red onion, very thinly sliced from tip to tip; 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar or champagne vinegar; 1/4 cup granulated sugar; 2 tablespoons coriander seeds (optional); 2 teaspoons kosher salt; 2 large celery stalks, trimmed and thinly sliced on a sharp angle; 2 medium carrots, peeled and very thinly sliced lengthwise using a mandoline or thinly sliced diagonally; 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest and 2 tablespoons juice (from 1 lemon), or 2 tablespoons vinegar; 8 cups torn butter lettuce or romaine hearts (6 to 8 ounces); 3 small radishes, very thinly sliced (optional); 2/3 cup torn or chopped mixed fresh herbs (any combination of parsley, dill, basil, mint or chives) (see Tip); 2 to 4 teaspoons coarse or Dijon mustard, to taste

By Alexa Weibel

Updated May 7, 2020

Quick-Pickled Vegetable Salad — Yossy Arefi for The New York Times (photography and styling)

Total Time: 20 minutes
Rating: 4(284)
Comments: Read comments

The best salads don’t have to be laborious. This one benefits from pickled red onions, which take only minutes to make and can perk up salads, seared meats and vegetables, pasta and even grilled cheese. Make a double batch, and you’ll brighten future meals in a flash. And, for excellent flavor in every bite, season the ingredients before combining, bearing in mind that celery, carrots and firmer vegetables need far more salt and pepper than delicate salad greens.

or to save this recipe.
Subscriber benefit: give recipes to anyone
As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.
Subscribe
Share
Print Options
Include recipe photo

Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

For the Pickled Red Onions

1small red onion, very thinly sliced from tip to tip
½cup apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar or champagne vinegar
¼cup granulated sugar
2tablespoons coriander seeds (optional)
2teaspoons kosher salt

For the Salad

2large celery stalks, trimmed and thinly sliced on a sharp angle
2medium carrots, peeled and very thinly sliced lengthwise using a mandoline or thinly sliced diagonally
3tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1teaspoon fresh lemon zest and 2 tablespoons juice (from 1 lemon), or 2 tablespoons vinegar
8cups torn butter lettuce or romaine hearts (6 to 8 ounces)
3small radishes, very thinly sliced (optional)
⅔cup torn or chopped mixed fresh herbs (any combination of parsley, dill, basil, mint or chives) (see Tip)
2 to 4teaspoons coarse or Dijon mustard, to taste

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.

Preparation

Step 1
Prepare the pickled onions: Set the sliced onion in a small heatproof bowl. Combine the vinegar, sugar, coriander seeds (if using), salt and ½ cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over high, then pour over onions. Stir to combine, let cool, then transfer onions and brine to a lidded container. Refrigerate until chilled. (Makes about ⅔ cup drained onions. Onions will keep up to 3 weeks.)
Step 2
Prepare the salad: In a medium bowl, combine the celery, carrots, olive oil, lemon zest and juice. Season generously with salt and pepper and toss to coat.
Step 3
When ready to serve, add the lettuce, radishes (if using) and herbs to a large bowl, season lightly with salt and pepper and gently toss to coat. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, transfer the celery and carrots to the vegetables in the large bowl, leaving the vinaigrette behind in the medium bowl.
Step 4
To the vinaigrette, add the mustard, ¼ cup drained pickled red onions and 4 teaspoons of the pickled red onion brine and stir to combine; season to taste. Add vinaigrette to salad, toss to coat and season. Serve immediately.

Tip

If you don’t have fresh herbs, you can add 1 teaspoon dried herbs (such as mint, tarragon, chives, parsley, herbes de Provence or Italian seasoning) to the dressing.

Ratings

4 out of 5

284 user ratings

Have you cooked this?

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Comments

Linda Criss5 years ago

Oh dear. Too much salt. Now if you added some water to the mix as well as more apple cider vinegar it works out just fine. It’s really 2 Tablespoons salt, one tablespoon sugar, two cups apple cider vinegar, one cup water. Slice, julienne carrots, celery, radish, cucumbers - lasts for a week if you stop munching. Very Hanoi style.

P Boszko5 years ago

Has recipe been edited to t from T? Only 2t salt in above recipe

NHCook5 years ago

As a novice I understand I may have had a heavy hand with the salt but even as I was seasoning the lettuce and radishes as instructed I was thinking, “is this really necessary?” I am remaking tonight and will be much more mindful of this. Overall it was very good though.. love the coarse mustard in it. I think this will become a staple in our house once I nail the seasoning.

MrsBeee1 year ago

This was fantastic. I used mint and dill for the fresh herbs. No problem with it being overly salted.

Jess1 year ago

So good. Picky kids and salad-hating husband loved it. It definitely needs all of the lettuce or the dressing is overwhelming.

Ivy2 years ago

I don’t usually use recipes for salad, but this one is worth retaining. My only issue was making sure the onion pickling liquid was able to cool off in time to add to the dressing! (I popped it all into the freezer while I prepared the rest of the salad and there were no issues.) A fair bit of cleanup, though, using two bowls and a small pot for the brine to get this all sorted. Still - delicious, and now I have extra pickled onions for the next time.

Private comments are only visible to you.