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<\/a><\/p>\nThis week, I’d like to share some ideas about onions. Onions are the\u00a0reliable workhorses of vegetable cookery. It is likely that you will\u00a0have cooked many an onion without giving it a second thought. I am here\u00a0to entreat you to select and prepare onions with care and patience. They\u00a0deserve it!<\/p>\n
This season we have had a lovely array of onions from the Organic Farm\u00a0CSA, including new or \u2019spring’ onions with green tops on, scallions with\u00a0small bulbs, and the thin, more delicate \u2018green onions\u2019 as they are\u00a0commonly called. Other useful onion family members are shallots, leeks,\u00a0and chives. (I’ll get to garlic another day.) For many purposes in the\u00a0kitchen, onions are relatively interchangeable. But choice of onion will\u00a0change the character of each dish, so it is useful to appreciate the\u00a0differences in pungency, grassiness, and caramelize-ability for\u00a0different types of onions, and harness these qualities.<\/p>\n
There are red, yellow, and white varieties of sweet and storage onions. Produce specialist Elizabeth Schneider, who has written an excellent compendium on vegetables from A to Z, suggests that \u2018sweet\u2019 is an overstatement and simply means that they are mild enough to eat raw. Storage onions are most commonly available at the grocery store.<\/p>\n
These are some good general rules of thumb for the types of red, yellow,
\nand white onions we have gotten from the Farm and that are usually
\navailable at the supermarket.<\/p>\n
White onions are the sweetest and least pungent, so they are good raw.\u00a0This means that they are the ideal choice for uncooked salsas and\u00a0relishes, and to add a little punch to cold fish and shellfish dishes,\u00a0sandwiches, and cold soups. It is a perfect time of the year to use
\nwhite onion in gazpacho, while tomatoes and peppers are in their prime.\u00a0Gazpacho is a Spanish cold pur\u00e9ed vegetable soup. My husband taught me\u00a0how to make gazpacho, like this.<\/p>\n
GAZPACHO<\/strong><\/span>:<\/p>\n Peel 1 English cucumber and remove the seeds (Ed: an English cucumber is usually seedless<\/em>)\u00a0by slicing into\u00a0quarters lengthwise, and then slicing out the seeds along the length ofeach quarter. This sounds like a bother, but ensures that the soup does\u00a0not have any trace of bitterness. The seed section can be nice to eat on\u00a0its own, or dipped in a little salt or sugar. Chop the peeled, seeded\u00a0cucumber into large cubes. Cube a cup’s worth of nice tomatoes (halve\u00a0about a dozen of the cherry tomatoes<\/strong> we have been getting from the\u00a0farm). Larger tomatoes can be peeled if they have thick skins to improve Blend until silky smooth. Add salt<\/strong> to taste. Let chill in fridge for\u00a0at least 30 minutes before serving. Serve with a bit of fresh ground\u00a0black pepper<\/strong> and a stick of celery<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Red onions can be eaten raw but are best for this purpose if a sweet\u00a0variety, new, or sliced very thin. They are delicious when browned\u00a0slowly like yellow onions below. Red onions are perfect for quick\u00a0pickles. For a bright, fresh accompaniment to a curry, use red onion in\u00a0this pickle based on a recipe from Madhur Jaffrey.<\/p>\n ONION RELISH<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Grate 2 medium carrots or one medium beet<\/strong>; combine with juice of half a small lemon<\/strong>, 1\/8 medium red onion<\/strong>, sliced very thin,\u00a0pinch of cayenne pepper<\/strong>, \u00bd cm knob of fresh ginger<\/strong> minced very fine,\u00a0and a little salt<\/strong>. Let it all sit at room temperature for at least 20\u00a0minutes to let the flavours blend before serving.<\/p>\n Yellow onions, including sweet and storage varieties, benefit most from\u00a0cooking. Patience is key. Do not use non-stick cookware if you want to\u00a0get the most out of your yellow onions. Onions of all types brown more\u00a0quickly if cooked in butter, but can also be tended to brown slowly in\u00a0olive oil. In both cases, low heat will produce a better tasting BROWNING ONIONS FOR SOUPS AND STEWS<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Add butter<\/strong> or olive oil<\/strong> to a cold stainless steel pan. Use the widest pan you have that will accommodate the onion in a single layer, if possible. Heat the fat slowly over medium-low heat. The butter is ready when it has melted, foamed, and the foam has subsided, but it should not have browned. Olive oil is ready when it begins to shimmer. Alternatively, add a tiny cube of onion to the fat as it is heating up, and you will know when your pan is ready when the onion sizzles. Add the cubed or sliced onion to the pan and immediately stir to coat all the onion in the cooking fat. Spread the onion out so that it is not crowded in any one section of the pan. Let the onion cook, stirring frequently until it becomes translucent. A pinch of sugar<\/strong> can be added at this stage to help the caramelization along, but I generally find that it is not needed. Let the onion continue to cook. Really let the onion brown, stirring occasionally to ensure that it does so evenly. The bottom of the pan will also acquire a bit of colour. Only when the onion is well and truly browned should you consider adding any other vegetables, garlic, salt, or any acidic ingredients which will hinder the browning.<\/p>\n Next time, I will share how to use this great onion foundation to build\u00a0delicious vegetable and fish soups that do not require stock, only\u00a0water, and still have plenty of flavour.<\/p>\n Green onions and scallions are a good way to finish a dish. The white\u00a0part will function similarly to a red onion, in that it can be eaten\u00a0raw, but can benefit from a little cooking or light pickling\/marinating.\u00a0The green part can be grassy so it should be used sparingly. Green\u00a0onions or onion tops can be sliced very fine and added to a soup or stew\u00a0at the end of cooking, right after you turn off the heat. By the time\u00a0that the dish is served, the residual heat will have mellowed the\u00a0onion’s flavour but will leave a bit of fresh herbiness comparable to\u00a0what chives do when added raw.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Catherine Mah, 21st September 2014 This is Catherine’s first “note” in what we hope becomes a regular column. If you are interested in contributing to the Organic Farm’s website, feel free to contact us with ideas.\u00a0 \u00a0 This week, … Continue reading
\nthe texture of the soup. Peel and chop half a red bell pepper, or a few\u00a0mild red chile peppers with seeds removed<\/strong>. Cube 1\/3 of a medium white\u00a0onion<\/strong>. Place all of the vegetables into a blender and drizzle generously with a tasty olive oil <\/strong>and juice of half a small lemon.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nfinished product. To achieve best caramelization, cook yellow onions\u00a0like this.<\/p>\n