January IOTM: Onions

[Jenise]

Yes, onions. The little orb of hot/sweet that every grocery store has in three colors every day of the year, that our pantries are never without, that we hated as children, that we take completely and totally for granted. Fresh green onions, also called scallions, are included here, too.

Where did onions come from? No one is really sure, but possibly the African continent as early records indicate they were cultivated in ancient Egypt. And like all roads, onions eventually arrived in Rome and that's where they acquired the name we now know them by from the Latin word unio, which means large pearl.

There are many varieties which growers categorize according to three groups of daily sunlight needs: short day, medium day, and long day. Generally, the short day onions are the sweetest (Vidalia and Texas Sweet are short day onions) and the long day onions the most pungent, but there exceptions: Walla Walla Sweets grown here in my cool home state of Washington, for instance, are long day onions.

Are they good for you? Yes. One medium raw onion contains:

60 Calories
1 gram Protein
14 grams Carbohydrates
0 Fat
0 Cholesterol
10 mg Sodium
200 mg Potassium
11.9 mg Vitamin C (20% of USRDA)

As well, nutritionists claim that half a raw onion a day can boost HDL (the good cholesterol) as much as 30% a day. They may not improve your breath, but they will improve circulation, lower blood pressure, and prevent blood clotting.

And of course, all us good cooks use onions all the time to season our foods. But what about onions as a main course, like stuffed and baked? Or onions as a main ingredient, as in Paula Deen's watermelon, onion and mint salad. Or maybe, like me, you've lusted after those fried Indian dumplings called onion bajji's (that may not be the correct spelling) and have always dreamed of duplicating them at home. Surely there are as many onion recipes as there are onions in the world, and each of us has explored but a handfull.

It's time for that to change. Time for us to think outside the skin, as it were.

With thanks to Sue Courtney who suggested this topic, as usual use this thread to share some of the favorite ways in which you already feature onions in your repertoires. And if anyone has a recipe for bajji's, fork it over!

[Sue Courtney]

Hi Jenise,
Those names are unfamiliar to me and I didn't know about the length of day. Very interesting. I guess I'm used to simply referring to them by their colour - brown, red or white. I prefer the red onions for eating as they seem to be less flatulence inducing, but maybe I should look for sweet mild onions as well.

What about what I call spring onions? The long green ones. Scallions? Are these considered onions for this topic?

I've taken to cooking spring onions whole. Can be quite nice when cut to the same size and roasted with asparagus in a little olive oil, as long as they don't dry out as the outer skin can become quite papery.


Cheers,
Sue

[Jenise]

Sue, thanks for the reminder. I meant to say green onions are included but I never did; I'll amend the post.

I love cooking them whole, too. Deep fried as tempera, or grilled and used as a garnish, love that. A favorite Mexican restaurant always serves one as the final element on every taco al carbon they serve, which really makes it look dressed for a special occasion.

Do you eat them raw? It was commonplace when I was a kid for cold green onions to be served raw any time meat, potatoes and gravy were served in combination, like a pot roast. Never been a fan myself, but I'm not sure my grandpa could have eaten his without.

[Sue Courtney]

Do you eat them raw? It was commonplace when I was a kid for cold green onions to be served raw any time meat, potatoes and gravy were served in combination, like a pot roast. Never been a fan myself, but I'm not sure my grandpa could have eaten his without.

Yes, often put them in salads. Red onions also go in salads. Love the Greek style salads with ripe red tomatoes, ripped leaves of basil, olives, Feta cheese and red onions.

Cheers,
Sue

[Jenise]

Ah, I do that too, but without a dressing of some kind and something else on my fork to tame and sweeten the strong flavors, they're sharp and uninteresting to me. My grandpa would eat with a fork in one hand and an onion in the other. Probably pretty midwestern, that.

[James Roscoe]

Jenise, with Chef and Bucko living in your area, you want to do onions as the IOTM? Isn't there enough gas in the NW already? (Okay, this joke is officially OLD!)

[Martha Mc]

Yes, onions. The little orb of hot/sweet that every grocery store has in three colors every day of the year, that our pantries are never without, that we hated as children, that we take completely and totally for granted. Fresh green onions, also called scallions, are included here, too.

Ramps and Leeks, too?

[Robin Garr]

Ramps and Leeks, too?

And shallots!

[Jenise]

Yes, ramps and leeks and shallots! My brain is entirely addled this week. Also, on the sub of shallots, our local Costco now sells 3 lb bags (I think it's 3, anyway) for around $6. After paying $4 a pound in local supermarkets for years and hence just buying 3 or 4 at a time, it's a joy to have a plentitude on hand.

[Jenise]

James, Chef is closer to you than me--Memphis. But Bucko, yeah. And what's really cool about Bucko is those gases he emits at the top of Bush Mountain (I kid you not, this is where he lives) are constantly mistaken for eruptions from Mt. St. Helens. His little joke, as it were.

[Peter May]

What about what I call spring onions? The long green ones. Scallions?

Scallions are the American name for Spring Onions.

[Robin Garr]

What about what I call spring onions? The long green ones. Scallions?

Scallions are the American name for Spring Onions.

Actually, the most common American name for them is "green onions." Foodies will generally understand "scallions," but I have a sense that it's either regional or old-fashioned.

[Bob Henrick]

Jenise, Chef Joseph is almost a bonafide Portland resident and chef. I am sure you have by now seen his "it's official" post.

[Larry Greenly]

Here's a link to a Bahji recipe: http://www.ivcooking.com/p269_105.php

I remember tasting my first green onions fresh out of a neighbor's garden when I was a kid. I've been hooked on them ever since. Have you noticed how their price has risen? I used to get them for 3 or 4 bunches for a buck, but now they're usually 79 cents per bunch. But I have found them at the old price in a Chinese food market.

I'm curious to see how well my Catawissa walking onions will do this spring. They are an unusual variety of Egyptian walking onions. The pyramid builders ate lots of onions and beer, and they didn't have any Beano.

[Paul Winalski]

I'm curious to see how well my Catawissa walking onions will do this spring. They are an unusual variety of Egyptian walking onions. The pyramid builders ate lots of onions and beer, and they didn't have any Beano.

Maybe the Great Fire in the library of Alexandria was started when someone lit a match.

Onions are such a big part of all the cooking that I do that it will be difficult to sort out which recipe to post for IOTM.

French Onion Soup comes immediately to mind, but my oven's currently busted so I can't make that classic very easily.

Onions are the major vegetable ingredient in Chinese red-cooked chicken.

Onions are of course one-third of the Cajun Trinity.

And where would a lot of Indian cooking be without onions (the Vaishnavu non-onion, non-garlic vegetarian tradition notwithstanding)?

And we haven't even started on scallions.

Or ramps (which I've found growing wild as far north as Connecticut).

January looks to be a good month. But first I have to eat through a big backlog of leftovers before I can consider cooking anything new.

-Paul W.

[Larry Greenly]

I have no problem making French onion soup on top of the stove. Without an oven, though, you can't brown the cheese and crouton. Perhaps you could use a blowtorch.

[Jenise]

Larry, thanks for the bahji recipe. It looks right in terms of ingredients, but I'll note tht every Indian restaurant I've ever had a bahji in (I always ask for it, even when it's not on the menu) used sliced onions not "coarsely chopped", and I think the sliced would make a much better construction. They look spidery when done, and the onion pieces would be less inclined to fall off/out.

[Paul B.]

Great topic. I love onions in all their forms and have been using them daily in some form or another for most of my adult life. They are a fantastic health tonic and taste great, obviously. I also love having a few different types of Allium vegetables in the garden: garlic for its green leaves, chives (they come up every year on their own in the spring). There is also a type of flowering onion that produces purple flowers atop slender, chive-like growth that's thicker than that of actual chives - my neighbour had these in his garden last year and I will be planting some too once I learn of its proper name. In any case ... onions, garlic, wine - it's all great stuff.

[MikeH]

Do you eat them raw? It was commonplace when I was a kid for cold green onions to be served raw any time meat, potatoes and gravy were served in combination, like a pot roast. Never been a fan myself, but I'm not sure my grandpa could have eaten his without.

Jenise, I remember as a kid my dad (and eventually me too) eating green onions raw....just dipped the end in salt first. And when I was a busboy at a local country club, each dinner table always had a relish tray that included raw green onions, raw radishes, along with pickles and olives.

[Robin Garr]

I remember as a kid my dad (and eventually me too) eating green onions raw....just dipped the end in salt first. And when I was a busboy at a local country club, each dinner table always had a relish tray that included raw green onions, raw radishes, along with pickles and olives.

The Trustees House at Shakertown at Pleasant Hill in central Kentucky (a place you may be familiar with, Mike), which specializes in traditional Shaker dishes and historic Kentucky cuisine, invariably puts a couple of whole raw green onions on its relish trays. I guess people eat them ...

[Jenise]

Do you eat them raw? It was commonplace when I was a kid for cold green onions to be served raw any time meat, potatoes and gravy were served in combination, like a pot roast. Never been a fan myself, but I'm not sure my grandpa could have eaten his without.

Jenise, I remember as a kid my dad (and eventually me too) eating green onions raw....just dipped the end in salt first. And when I was a busboy at a local country club, each dinner table always had a relish tray that included raw green onions, raw radishes, along with pickles and olives.

Mike, now that you mention it, I remember exactly that combintion on relish trays at an upscale "Continental" style restaurant we went to a lot when I was a child. We ate the pickles and olives, left the rest: Grandpa didn't join us on these dinners.

[Paul Winalski]

I have no problem making French onion soup on top of the stove. Without an oven, though, you can't brown the cheese and crouton. Perhaps you could use a blowtorch.

Yeah, that's the problem with having a busted oven. The broiler element's still working, though, so perhaps I could try doing the main part of the French onion soup on the stove, and setting the oven to "broil" for the finish.

But instead I think I'm just going to make the time to get the gas laid in so I can have a gas range cook top and electric oven. Problem is, the gas pipe has to go through the wine cellar, half of which will have to be moved out while they lay the gas piping.

-Paul W.

[Larry Greenly]

Don't let the plumbers drink your wine while they're playing with gas pipes.

[tsunami]

this is my ognion-basked

[img]http://s6.bilder-hosting.de/tbnl/T34PS.jpg[/img]

french shallots and a old species of onions with a thick skin but great taste!


my recepie ITOM:

red onion-confit:
Red onions or shallots cut in stripes
heat up a pan with some oil, fry the onions until they stard to get slightly brown, add red plums, cut in small pieces and ad salt, a hint of good mustard, and some port let it cook until the jus is gone.
let it cool down to room temperature and add dropp-wise the best vinegar you have. i like this: ([img]http://s6.bilder-hosting.de/tbnl/T3VH0.jpg[/img])
yo will get a "paste" that has to have stron aroma of the onions, a hint soureness and good saltiness.

i like to serve this to goose-liver or other terrines (like game)