Onions may seem a perennial ingredient since they're available all year, but red onions taste especially fresh and crisp now. We're nearing the end of the harvest, but these purple bulbs are still coming straight out of the ground and into our kitchens at the end of summer. That means they don't have the harsh bite, dry petals or papery skins that older onions develop.
To highlight red onions' mild sweetness and crunch, I toss thin slivers raw into pasta salad. They turn it into a dish I actually like. Normally, I have a love-hate relationship with pasta salad. It's everything I need _ fast, easy, make-ahead, portable, big batch _ and not what I want. At least not in its usual form. The cold noodles are too hard or too soft, too bland or too gloppy.
Here, they're just right. When tossed warm with a Thai-inspired fish sauce vinaigrette, the pasta stays tender and soaks up the sauce's spicy, savory tang. Red onion brightens the mix while pork jerky, a snack that is quickly becoming a pantry staple, adds heft and saves you the hassle of cooking meat. Crinkles of red cabbage take this dish into September and beyond and turn this into a hearty yet light one-dish meal.
