5oogr small onions/shallots, peeled; 1 pint (550 ml) malt vinegar; 2 large tbsp black treacle (I used miel de cana) or brown sugar; 2 red chillies ; Put the peeled onions in a bowl of cold salted water and leave for about an hour. He also had pheasants and partridges hanging from the ceiling of the garden shed that you had to walk under to use the ouside toilet. We have a solution. This is a traditional South African recipe, which comes from the great culinary tradition of the Cape Malays -- originally brought in as slaves in the 17th century. google_ad_client = "ca-pub-2579415064313591"; Add spices and bring to the boil. Your dessert menu is sorted with First Choice, Complete a Marine Biologist course courtesy of Two Oceans Aquarium, Cape Town’s Foreshore gets a nudge and a WINK Café, Visit the Dylan Lewis Sculpture Garden in Stellenbosch. A short history of pickled fish. Once peeled, layer in a bowl and sprinkle each layer with salt. That and the fact that the adults would dare each other to eat them and laugh when someone started coughing and going red in the face, stopped me from going near them until I was much older, probably about 16. Makes about 3,5 litres. Then, this pickled onion recipe changed my life – at least where my relationship with this ever-present and pungent bulb is concerned. Prepare brine with the 250 ml coarse salt and 1,5 litres cold water. While it’s almost impossible to determine the origins of the first pickled fish recipe in South Africa, (mostly because it’s the kind of recipe that’s handed down from generation to generation), what we do know is that pickled fish has been around since the Cape Colony was established, and is here to stay. Pour the vinegar and spice mixture through a sieve or colander, discarding the spices. When I was younger I remember being  terrified of these pickled onions. I remember when I was little we used to go round at the weekend and he would take me outside to show me the vegetables. I wouldn’t eat them before a hot date or job interview. Place spices, chillies, vinegar and sugar into a large stainless steel saucepan.