Baked Caramelized Onions
Whip up a batch at the beginning of the week, then enjoy these beauties tossed with roasted vegetables, incorporated into sandwiches or mixed into scrambled eggs all week long!
Ingredients:
5 pounds yellow or red onions, or a mixture of both (about 5-6 onions total)
¼ cup olive oil
1 tablespoon salt
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 400°. Peel and trim onions, then half and cut into ¼-inch slices.
2. Place onion slices into a large stockpot or Dutch oven, then drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt, tossing to distribute. Cover and place in oven.
3. Bake onions for 2 to 2½ hours until golden brown, stirring the onions every 15 minutes or so, scraping the sides of the pot so that the onions do not stick. Store the caramelized onions in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Sweet Onion Confit
This buttery-sweet topping is wonderful in sandwiches or even atop crackers.
Ingredients:
2 Walla Wall sweet onions
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon balsamic or sherry vinegar (optional)
Method:
1. Peel and slice the sweet onions. Heat a bit of vegetable oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.
2. Add sweet onions, sprinkle with salt, reduce heat to medium low or low and cook, stirring frequently, until onions are extremely tender and caramelized, about 30 minutes. Keep heat low enough so onions are cooking but not browning; caramelizing will brown them inside-out rather than bits of browning on the outside first. Finish with a splash of balsamic or sherry vinegar, if you like.
Purple String Beans with Caramelized Sweet Onions
These beautiful beans are tossed with flavorful onions and fresh parsley.
Ingredients:
1 pound purple string beans, trimmed
½ Walla Walla sweet onion, chopped
2-3 tablespoons butter
¼ cup freshly-chopped parsley
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Method:
1. Fill a large pot with water, bring to a boil. Drop in the beans, cook briefly until just tender, approximately 1 minute. Remove from heat, drain and rinse with cold water to stop the beans from cooking any longer. Set aside.
2. Meanwhile, in a large sauté pan, add the butter and onions, cooking over low heat until onions are tender and caramelized. Add the beans, turn heat to high and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with the parsley.
Quick-Pickled Sweet Onions
These snappy little onions are fantastic served on sandwiches and salads.
Ingredients:
4 medium-sized Walla Walla sweet onions, cut into rings
1½ cups white vinegar
½ cup sugar
3 tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon peppercorns
Method:
1. Bring all ingredients except onions to a boil in a medium sauce pan. Reduce heat and gently boil for one minute.
2. While mixture is boiling, pack onion rings into a glass jar as tightly as you can.
3. Remove boiling mixture from stove and pour most of the liquid directly into the jar. Allow bubbles to rise to the surface, then refill as needed, leaving a few centimeters of room at the top of the jar.
Heirloom Tomato Salad with Roasted Sweet Onions
Roasted sweet onion adds a wonderful depth of flavor to this refreshing salad.
Ingredients:
2 sweet onions, peeled and sliced into ½-inch-thick rings
2 heirloom or other summer tomatoes, chopped
2 small ears of corn, shucked, blanched and kernels removed
1 scallion, diced
5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
10 basil leaves, thinly sliced
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 400°. Arrange the sliced onion rings on a baking sheet and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and sprinkle generously with sea salt, tossing to coat onions on both sides. Roast for 40 minutes, flipping halfway through until onions are brown and soft. Remove from onion, allow to cool, then roughly chop.
2. In a large bowl, add the chopped tomatoes, corn kernels and scallion. Add roasted onions and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil and a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together honey with sherry vinegar, then add remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, and salt and pepper then whisk well to combine. Drizzle dressing over the salad to taste and top with basil.
Roasted Walla Walla Onions with Pine Nut Butter
This classic side dish from Tom Douglas’ Dahlia Lounge restaurant is often served over a bed of sautéed Swiss chard.
Ingredients:
4 medium Walla Walla sweet onions
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ cup pine nuts, toasted
3 ounces unsalted butter, softened
½ teaspoon lemon zest
½ teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste
â…“ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Additional pine nuts, lemon wedges and rosemary sprigs for garnish
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 375°. Peel onions and cut them in half, top to bottom. Brush onions with oil and place cut side down on a preheated grill or grill pan. Barbecue until grill marks form. Place on a cookie sheet and finish cooking in the oven until tender, about 25 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, make the pine nut butter. Place the ½ cup pine nuts in the bowl of a food processor and pulse several times until finely ground. Add butter, lemon zest, rosemary, black pepper and salt. Process until mixture is well blended. Spread the tender onions liberally with pine nut butter. Return to the oven to cook just until butter is melted, about 2 minutes.
3. Serve onions warm, sprinkled with grated Parmesan cheese and additional toasted pine nuts. Garnish plates with lemon wedges and rosemary sprigs if desired.
Pickled Red Onions
Quick-pickled in vinegar, these onions wonderfully complement game day staples like burgers, tacos and of course, chili!
Ingredients:
1 medium red onion
2 tablespoons white vinegar or apple cider vinegar
Pinch sea salt
Pinch dried oregano
Method:
1. Thinly-slice red onion and place in a shallow bowl or jar. Drizzle with vinegar and then pour over water to cover.
2. Add pinches of both salt and oregano, stirring gently to mix. Cover and let onions sit for several hours or overnight in fridge.
Braised Chard with Sweet Onions
Gorgeous young red chard takes center stage in this meltingly tender side dish from Chez Panisse Vegetables by Alice Waters. Try it simply sautéed with onion and olive oil, or customize your own version by adding minced garlic, freshly-squeezed lemon or pan-fried pancetta.
Ingredients:
1 pound fresh young red or green chard
1 large sweet onion
Olive oil
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Method:
1. Separate chard leaves and ribs. Wash, drain and cut leaves into a rough chiffonade.
2. Slice a large sweet onion and start it stewing in some olive oil in a pot large enough to hold all the chard leaves.
3. After the onion softens, add the chard leaves, season with salt and pepper, cover and stew for 20 to 3o minutes, stirring every so often.
English Shelling Peas with Parsley Compound Butter & Mint
This beautiful spring side is accented by stewed pearl onions, fresh Romaine and bright mint.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups freshly-shelled English peas
6-8 pearl onions
½ cup chicken stock
1 cup thinly-sliced baby Romaine
3 tablespoons fresh mint
1 tablespoon Farm & Larder parsley compound butter, at room temperature
Method:
1. To peel onions, trim root ends of onion, and drop in a stockpot of cold water. Season with salt. Bring water to a boil, quickly blanching onions until just tender, about 1 minute. Strain and rinse onions with cold water. Gently squeeze the pointed, non-root tip of each onion, the tender flesh will pop right out.
2. Bring chicken broth to a simmer in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add peas and onions and simmer until peas are heated through, and onions begin to soften, about 4 minutes.
3. Add in Romaine lettuce and fresh mint. Toss to coat with parsley compound butter. Season with salt as needed.
Grilled Corn Salad with Sweet Peppers
This warm salad is crisp and crunchy, boasting a wonderful smoky flavor from the perfectly-charred corn and peppers.
Ingredients:
4 ears sweet corn, shucked
2 sweet peppers, halved and seeded
2 ½-inch-thick onion slices
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon chopped oregano
1 tablespoon finely-chopped chives
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Method:
1. Preheat a grill or grill pan over medium-high heat. Place corn on the grill rack; grill 20 minutes or until charred here-and-there, turning occasionally. Place in a large bowl; cover with foil. Leave in a warm location 10 minutes, then cut corn kernels off cobs, encouraging clusters to stay intact, if possible.
2. Meanwhile, place the peppers and onions on grill rack, and grill 4 minutes on each side. Remove from the grill and coarsely chop both the peppers and onions.
3. Combine the chives, cream, oregano, vinegar and garlic with a healthy pinch each of salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add peppers, onions and corn; toss gently to coat. Serve warm.