It’s hard to imagine a meal without onions.
Pot roast? They are mandatory. Meatloaf? Essential. Green chile? Crucial. Chicken noodle soup? Imperative.
Some salads wouldn’t be complete without them: baby spinach with paper-thin slivers of red onion tossed with chunks of fresh orange and an orange-vinaigrette dressing.
Classic Italian caprese: layered slices of tomato, mozzarella, basil leaves and red onion, drizzled with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.
The equally classic French salade nicoise: flakes of fresh-poached tuna, tomatoes, baby artichokes, cucumber slices, boiled egg, baby green beans, pearl onions and black olives arranged on a bed of leaf lettuce.
Cippolinis tossed with butter and fresh thyme.
They are so ubiquitous we just don’t think about them. For a vegetable that only comes in yellow, white and red, each with its own flavor and characteristics, its uses are almost unlimited.
There are even those who swear by the deliciousness of onion sandwiches, slices of sweet onion layered between slices of lettuce on white or whole wheat bread slathered with mayonnaise. Maybe a few grinds of fresh peppercorns.
Running neck and neck with french fries are fried onion rings.
At one time the favored sweet onion was the Bermuda variety because they were so huge a slice would darned near cover an entire slice of bread. But now there is the Maui (Hawaii), Texas 1015, Walla Walla (Washington), Vidalia (Georgia), Sweet Imperial (Southern California).
If you don’t think there’s that much to say about onions, take a peek at “Onions, Onions, Onions: Delicious Recipes for the World’s Favorite Secret Ingredient,” by Linda and Fred Griffith, or “The Onion Book,” by Oregon- based author Jan Roberts-Dominguez.
Her website, sweetonionsource
.com, also carries recipes for dishes from appetizers to desserts – as in the recipe for sweet onion and apple upside-down cake or onion truffles made with Valrhona or Ghirardelli chocolates.
Whether dealing with the thin, light-colored spring or summer onions, or the thick papery skins of fall/winter storage onions, there is one suited for a particular dish. Whether making corn relish, a pot of beans, potato salad, clam chowder, tacos or stir-fried anything, where would we be without them?
A La Tomate Cafe and Tarterie on 17th Avenue near Franklin Street does a stunning butter-crusted tart made with onions, fresh mushrooms, herbs and tomatoes. Chef-owner Philip Collier says he came up with the idea after visiting tarteries in the south of France. Onions, he says, are the start of almost everything for him, from jam and marmalade to barbecue sauce.
“At the restaurant, we have 42 add-ons that people can mix and match, but my personal favorite is the tart we do with tomato, onion, fresh mushrooms and herbs,” he says. “Sometimes I’ll just take a slice of Bermuda, spread mayonnaise on it and eat it just like that. I use Spanish (onions) for caramelizing because of their sugar content. It renders a nice delicate flavor.”
With an average of 30 calories per serving and seven grams of carbohydrates per half cup, you’re not only stoking up on health-promoting phytochemicals and nutrients, you’re enhancing the flavor of whatever dish the onion is headed for.
Moreover, onions have been part of the human diet for centuries. Kim Reddin, director of public and industry relations with the Greeley-based National Onion Association, says people come from all over the world to see what’s happening in Colorado, one of the nation’s top 10 grower states. The association’s website is onions-usa.org.
“A lot of people don’t know that we grow onions in three areas in Colorado – the Front Range, the Arkansas Valley and the Western Slope – and we ship nationally,” she says.
And yes, she likes onions. “Someone told me they couldn’t imagine cooking without onions.
“International visitors have come from Japan, Australia, England and China, come to see how we grow onions and learn about our growing season,” she says.
Nutritionists have identified fiber, vitamins C and B6, potassium and a flavonoid called quercetin as onion components. Onions also are said to have a variety of other naturally occurring chemicals known as organosulfur compounds that have been linked to lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Onions grew in Chinese gardens as early as 5,000 years ago. They’re mentioned in some of the oldest writings from India. To this day no Indian restaurant worth its raita would be caught without onion and cauliflower fritters or onion kulcha (a bread). Like everything else served at the Indian table, foods are designed to complement each other, each with a specific nutritional function.
Although no one seems to be able to pinpoint the onion’s exact geographic origin, we know that they can be traced to 3500 B.C. in Egypt, where onions were actually an object of worship. There is also evidence that Sumerians grew onions in 2500 B.C. because a Sumerian text tells of someone plowing over the city governor’s onion patch. There is no known record of the plower’s fate.
And if the conversation goes slack at your next cocktail party, you might dazzle guests with your knowledge of Egyptology by dropping the morsel about King Ramses IV, who died in 1160 B.C. and was entombed with onions in his eye sockets.
No word on whether they were cippolini or pearl.
If anyone is still interested in anything you say after you drop that bit of wisdom, launch a narrative into how onions have played an essential role in the world’s culinary history, how the Romans ate onions regularly and brought to them to provinces in England and Germany; how, before Pompeii did him in, Pliny the Elder chronicled the onion’s ability to induce sleep, heal mouth sores and cure dog bites, toothaches, dysentery and lumbago.
Not to be outdone, the Greeks got their two cents in with first-century physician Pedanius Dioscorides. A pharmacist and surgeon, he was famous for writing the five-volume De Materia Medica, one of the most influential herbal books in history. It included the onion’s medicinal properties.
The Greeks also used onions to fortify athletes for the Olympic games. Before competition, they would consume pounds of onions, drink onion juice and rub onions on their bodies.
Opa!
These are important tidbits to know in a country where the per capita consumption of onions in 2004 was 19 pounds per person, according to the onion association. Farmers in the United States plant about 145 acres of onions, producing an estimated 6 billion pounds, resulting in 6.5 per cent of the world’s production.
We export them to Canada, Japan, Mexico and Taiwan. And Canadians, Japanese, Mexican and Taiwanese agricultural experts have visited Colorado at one time or another to learn about onions are grown.
Wayne Mininger, executive vice president of the National Onion Association, says onions are the most widely traded commodity in the world.
“They’re grown in virtually every country in the world,” he says. “There are all sorts aspects of trading onions that people never think of – from understanding the dynamics of growing seasons in major crop-growing regions around the world, to learning about horticultural developments and understanding how the crop is grown. There is an international spiderweb of interconnected issues – transportation, technology and plant breeding just to name a few.”
There is more to onions than its use as an ingredient and its tear-inducing sulfides (use a sharp knife on a cold onion and you’ll reduce the probability of tears), as evidenced in the words of the great American poet, Carl Sandburg, who wrote: “Life is like an onion. You peel it off one layer at a time; and sometimes you weep.”
So if you hear an onion ring, answer it.
Staff writer Ellen Sweets can be reached at 303-820-1284 or esweets@denverpost.com.
Caribbean Lime Chicken
This recipe from the National Onion Board is similar to chicken recipes from other parts of the world that combine chicken, lemon and onion. Serves 4.
Ingredients
Directions:
Mix 3 tablespoons lime juice, garlic, salt, thyme, pepper flakes and black pepper in dish. Add chicken and mix well. Heat oil until hot in large skillet. Place chicken in skillet in single layer and cook over medium heat until browned, about 5 minutes.
Turn chicken over and brown other side, about 5 minutes. Add onion to pan and cook, stirring often, about 8 minutes or until chicken and onions are cooked through. Add tomatoes and curry powder to pan. Cook 2 minutes. Stir in remaining lime juice. Serve with rice. Garnish with citrus wedges and fresh chives.
Wine ideas: If you’re not up for a mojito, then try a riesling or verdelho from Australia. Both are dry and have tangy citrus flavors to stand up to the citrus in this dish. Hope Estate makes a good verdelho that was the “Wine of the Week” on Sept. 7.
– Tara Q. Thomas
Scalloped Onions, Leeks and Shallots
A perfect accompaniment to grilled steak, this recipe comes courtesy of Gourmet Magazine, Sara Moulton and the Food Network. The onion mixture may be made two days in advance and kept covered and chilled until ready for assembly and baking. Serves 8.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 375.
In a heavy kettle cook the onions, leeks and shallots in the butter with salt and pepper to taste, covered, over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, reduce the heat to moderately low, and cook the vegetables, stirring occasionally, for 10-20 minutes more, or until they are soft. Remove the lid and cook the mixture over moderate heat, stirring for 3-5 minutes more or until the excess liquid is evaporated.
Transfer the onion mixture to a 2-quart shallow baking dish and stir in the cream. In a small bowl toss together the bread crumbs and the cheddar, sprinkle the mixture evenly onto the onion mixture, and dust it with the paprika. Bake onion mixture in the middle of the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the mixture is bubbly.
Classic Onion Soup
This easy-to-make version from the National Onion Board features a toast round floated in the soup instead of a thick cheese covering. Serves 6
Ingredients
Directions
Melt butter in large saucepan that holds at least 4 quarts. Add onions; cook over medium heat 12 minutes, or until tender and golden. Stir often. Add sugar and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add broth; cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 12 minutes. If desired, add brandy; cook 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. To serve, ladle soup into bowl; float toast on soup. Sprinkle with cheese.
Wine ideas: Hold the wine-this soup is a heavenly enough draught. If anything, add a splash of Madeira instead of brandy – not Rainwater, but good stuff (look for an indication of age, such as “10-year-old”) and have a nip of it on the side.
– Tara Q. Thomas
Chilled Salmon Salad with Orange Citrus Onions
Recipe courtesy of the National Onion Board. Serves 4.
Ingredients
Directions
Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper. Portion red onion onto salmon fillets and press on evenly with back of spoon. Pour wine into a 10-inch skillet and heat until it bubbles at the edges.
Place salmon in wine, cover and return liquid to a gentle boil. Let cook gently without turning for 6 or 7 minutes or until salmon is just cooked through and topping is rosy. Check doneness by poking the tip of a sharp knife into the thickest part of one fillet to make sure the inside color has paled. Chill fish and liquid.
Orange Citrus Onions
Heat oil in a large skillet. Add yellow onions and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until they are soft. Remove from heat and mix in orange and lime peels and orange juice. Cover and chill.
To serve, portion lettuce onto 4 plates. Top with salmon fillets. Lift onions from liquid with a slotted spoon or fork and top salmon. Spoon juice from onions over salmon and lettuce. Garnish with dill.
Wine ideas: The rich fish and abundant citrus fruit flavors give this an almost tropical feel. Run with that feeling with a rich, ripe, tropically inflected chardonnay. The simple, fruity pineapple notes of Wild Horse’s Central Coast Chardonnay or St. Clement from Napa Valley will do the trick for $17 or less.
– Tara Q. Thomas
Onion Custards
Recipe courtesy of Marie Simmons, from “Cooking Live” on the Food Network. The custards can be made ahead and reheated in the microwave or wrapped in foil and reheated in the oven. Serves 6.
Ingredients
Directions
Halve onions from top to bottom. Resting on the cut side, slice thinly into half circles. Measure 6 cups.
Melt butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat; when foam subsides, add onions. Cover and cook over medium low heat until wilted, about 15 minutes. Uncover and continue cooking over medium heat, stirring often and adjusting heat so that onions brown slowly, until onions are a dark golden brown and very tender, about 20 minutes. Stir in the chopped thyme, salt and pepper.
Preheat oven to 350.
Brush 6 5-ounce custard cups generously with softened butter. Arrange in a 13-by-9-inch baking pan. Set a kettle of water on to boil.
Combine milk and cream in a saucepan and heat until small bubbles appear around the edges. In a large bowl whisk eggs and egg yolks until blended. Slowly add the hot milk, whisking gently until blended.
Place a strainer over a large measuring cup with a pouring spout and strain the custard. Using tongs, distribute the saute onions evenly among the 6 custard cups (they should be about 1/4 filled). Add the custard, distributing evenly. Run a knife through the custards so that the custard will seep through the layer of onion.
Place the baking pan in the oven and carefully pour hot water into the pan until it is 1-inch up the sides of the cups. Bake until custards are lightly browned and set, about 25 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven. Using a spatula and protecting your hand with a pot-holder, remove custard cups to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Wine ideas: Creamy and sweet with the flavor of long-cooked onions, this dish needs a gentle, creamy wine. Think chardonnay, which can have an almost buttery flavor and sweetness when aged in oak barrels.
Opt for a lightly oaked version, such as Eos from Paso Robles or Clos LaChance from Santa Cruz Mountains – both under $20.
– Tara Q. Thomas
Aliza Green’s Senegalese Chicken Yassa with Sweet Onions and Lemon
From sweetonionsource.com, a website for all things oniony. This famed Senegalese dish is made in many versions, but just about all of them include broiled or browned marinated chicken that is simmered with fresh onion juice and lots of onions. The chicken should be started a day in advance, or at least four hours. Serve over rice seasoned with turmeric. Serves 4-6.
Ingredients
Directions
In a ceramic, glass or stainless-steel baking dish, combine the onions, garlic, chile, ginger, bay leaves, thyme, pepper and salt. Add the lemon juice, water and 1/4 cup peanut oil. Mix with the chicken and marinate refrigerated overnight.
Remove chicken from marinade and pat dry with paper towels. Strain the marinade, reserving both liquid and solids.
Heat peanut oil in a large heavy skillet (cast-iron or nonstick preferred), and brown the chicken on all sides. Remove chicken and pour off most of the oil. Add reserved onions to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes over moderate heat, or until the onions are soft and lightly colored.
Return chicken, any juices, and the marinade to the skillet. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer about 25 minutes, or until chicken is tender, turning chicken halfway through. Serve.
Wine ideas: The richness of this dish would be well matched with the broad, waxy texture of a pinot gris. It’ll handle the heat well too. Gallo of Sonoma makes a fresh, orangey version for just $13. You could play the heat off the light, refreshing cherry flavors of a rosé like those from SoloRosa or Edmunds St. John in California.
– Tara Q. Thomas
