Tame Aggressive Onions by Sprinkling With Salt
Raw onions give sandwiches and salads a much-needed pungency, but sometimes they are too good at their job and their aggressive flavor overwhelms the rest of the meal. If you find that you have a particularly intense onion, all you need is a little salt to tame it.
Salting chopped onions before adding them to a sandwich (or salad) does two things: season and soften. It draws out moisture, making the slices more pliable, and at the same time adding them to its own juice, it creates a softer, tender – but still onion – onion.
Simply chop the onion as usual, sprinkle with enough salt to barely cover, and let it hang for five or 10 minutes until it reaches the desired flexibility (the longer they sit, the softer they get). If your onion is a little overwhelming and you still want to maintain a crispy texture, season with half of the onion and then toss both halves before sprinkling on a plate.