Category: Onions (Yellow, Red, Sweet, & Shallots)
Nachos
Whether nothing more than beans, cheese and fresh salsa or loaded up with lots of other toppings, nachos are fun, quick and versatile. When we have them for dinner we often manage to eat more of them than we think possible!
[caption id="attachment_19080" align="aligncenter" width="660"] This version included ground beef that had been seasoned with lots of chili powder and cooked with finely chopped onion, chard stems and some chard leaves. It was fantastic![/caption]
If you don't have chips on hand but have corn tortillas you can cut them into wedges, fry them in oil until crisp and use them here. They'll be thicker/sturdier than typical chips and very good.
Quantities are intended as guidelines and adjust to suit your taste/needs.... Read more »
White Beans, Chicken and Leeks
This is so delicious and comes together quickly if you have cooked (or canned beans). It's very good with home-cooked beans because you use some of the bean cooking liquid which makes for a flavorful, light stew.
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Yogurt-marinated Spiced Chicken
This is a very flexible dish. You can make it with just a few pieces of chicken, bone-in or boneless or with all 8-10 pieces of a whole cut up chicken. Yogurt tenderizes the meat and you only have to let it marinate for 20 minutes but can leave it for up to 24 hours. You can vary the spices too.
You can roast this chicken on a sheet pan instead of cooking on the stove top and finish under the broiler to crisp the skin.
** It can be tricky to get nicely browned skin so you start with skinless thighs if you don't have a really big, heavy skillet where all the chicken can be easily in one layer.... Read more »
Grilled (or Broiled) Spring Onions
Spring onions or young onions with their greens still fresh and attached are absolutely delicious quickly grilled or broiled. I rarely fire up my grill and just do these under the broiler. If you have lots of onions to use up, make a lot. They're fantastic leftover on sandwiches, in salads, etc.
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Green Garlic, Garlic Scape and Spring Onion Panade
In the spring farmers markets and CSA shares in the Pacific Northwest feature lots of alliums like green or new garlic, garlic scapes, spring onions, and leeks. You can mix and match the garlic and onion and ratios thereof based on what you have. It's very forgiving. The combination of these alliums, gently cooked with some thyme and/or sage and then layered with stale bread, broth and a bit of cheese is amazing. You can add a few handfuls of leafy greens if you have them. This is very similar to this kale panade and this chard and onion panade.
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Greek Salad
Mid summer cucumbers, tomatoes and sweet, crunchy onions paired with salty savory feta and olives is really a wonderful thing. It may not be authentic but it will be delicious.
Use however much feta and olives you like. The ratio really should depend on your taste (or what you have on hand).
Variations
I sometimes can't resist adding fresh mint, basil and even arugula.
You could add corn, sweet and/or hot fresh peppers, or whatever else strikes your fancy
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Grilled Spring Onions and Mushrooms with Rosemary
This is a lovely combination, especially if you grill some of the spring onion stalks. And you can make dinner out of it by piling it on what I call cheesy toast--any good, crusty bread topped with plenty of sharp cheddar or other good melting cheese and either quickly grilled too or set under the broiler until bubbly. Substitute whatever mushrooms you have--the variety isn't not critical.
Use your broiler instead of a grill for similarly delicious results.
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Rutabagas and Red Onions Agrodolce (sweet & sour)
Italians use this sweet and sour combination for various vegetable dishes, most classically with cipollini onions. The general method works well in this variation as well.... Read more »
Parsnip and Caramelized Onion Skillet Pie
This a version of the Potato and Chard Pie and is a substantial side dish or a light main dish served with a salad or two. The sweet and sour onions play nicely with the sweet, creamy parsnips for quite a rich dish. For a lighter dish you could fill it with cooked greens instead of onions. You can adapt it many other ways too; use half potatoes, half parsnips or half celery root or use rosemary instead of sage and so on and so forth.
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Cook-with-what-you-have Fajitas
I should make these more often, says my son. It really is a good template for farmers' market or CSA produce. These employ the classic green bell pepper and onions, but the options are endless!
Of course substitute whatever meat you have on hand or skip it altogether. Sausage is what I often have on hand and it works beautifully.
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Sweet Onion and Summer Squash Gratin
This is a very quick, fragrant and delicious side dish. You could dress it up with buttered bread crumbs, change the herbs, add thin slices of eggplant or adapt it in other ways to suit your taste/what you have on hand.
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Turmeric Roasted Spring Vegetables with Chickpeas
Roasting, or actually broiling in this case, is a great strategy for enhancing some vegetables. In spring I might find myself with random bits, a handful of radishes, a couple of salad turnips, a few spring onions, as was the case here. These aren't vegetables we necessarily think of as roastable/broilable but the quick broiling gives these tender vegetables a nice browning without turning them to mush. Adapt with what you have on hand, spices you like and mix and match your way to lunch/dinner.
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Radicchio, Roasted Onion and Parsley Salad
Strong, slightly bitter radicchio (or any chicory), sweet roasted onions, parsley and crunchy hazelnuts make for a lively winter salad.... Read more »
Roasted Onions and/or Shallots
If you get a winter CSA you might find yourself with lots of onions and shallots. They are of course useful to start stews, sauces, soups and in salad dressings or turned into jams. They are also particularly wonderful, simply roasted with a few thyme sprigs until caramelized around the edges and sweet and tender in the center. I use these flavorful nuggets in salads, as a condiment for roast meats or pureed with other vegetables in a soup or as a snack with bread, cheese and pickles.
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Roasted Beets and Onions with Greens
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Tomato, Cucumber, Sweet Onion and Basil Salad
This is a quintessential summer salad that takes 5 minutes to put together. Add feta or fresh mozzarella if you'd like but the simplicity of this is just lovely.
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Green/Wax Bean Salad with Sweet Onion, Parsley and Toasted Almonds
This salad is a mix of sweet, sour, crunchy and chewy and is beautiful to boot. You can substitute other nuts or toasted seeds but include something crunchy--it's key for the success of this salad.... Read more »
Braised Shallots
A perfect side dish for most anything. Wonderful with most any roasted, grilled or braised meat though I enjoy them with roasted squash or root vegetables and or some braised greens. They are rich and luscious and so easy and make your house smell wonderful for hours.... Read more »
Winter Squash "Caponata"
This dish is just slightly adapted from a dish that Jim Dixon posted on Real Good Food. It's a winning twist on the classic Sicilian dish which uses eggplant.
This is quite quick to make (even quicker if you have already roasted/cooked squash) and of course even better the next day so make plenty. Enjoy at room temperature with good crusty bread.
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Braised Fennel, Sweet Peppers and Onions
This dish takes about 25 minutes to cook but is dead simple and mostly hands-off and very versatile. You can certainly skip the peppers, add more onions, just make it with fennel, add leeks or vary it in any way you see fit.
You can toss this dish with just-cooked pasta and a bit of hot pasta cooking water and some grated Parmesan and a good drizzle of olive oil for a luscious main dish. Or you can serve it as a side with most anything or top it with an egg.
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