Onions

ABC Wednesday
October 22nd, 2014

The letter is O and the subject is ONIONS

Julian Merrow-Smith

What can I tell you about the onion that you don't already know.

Such an ancient, familiar, priceless part of our plant heritage, onions are endlessly

versatile and absolutely essential in so many of the dishes we savour.

When chopped, onions produce a volatile, sulphur rich oil that makes the eyes water, but

never let that deter you  - its taste, the lovely odour it imparts when cooking

and the unbelievable medicinal qualities it has make it one of the most valued additions

to any menu.

What is a kitchen without a bag full of onions - red, white, purple - all

delicious and so good for you!

I keep a half a dozen frozen onion soups ready in the freezer for days I have

unexpected company for lunch, or to pop into the oven on chilly, damp days.

and what better than onion rings to spice up a burger, or eat alongside a green salad!!

I love onions roasted in the oven, or the delicious aroma of them frying in a pan.

I am particularly addicted to creamed onions served as a vegetable....(although my youngest son only 

recommends creamed onions as a poultice if you get bitten by an alligator)

but what I love most is Onion Pie!!!!

Here is a nice recipe I use....

Combine one and one half cups of flour, 3/4 tsp of salt and one and one half

teaspoons of caraway seed.

Add one half a cup of shortening (diced) and cut into flour mixture.

Mix with 3 tablespoons of ice cold water.

Well you know how to do this pastry making thing, and when you have mixed if and rolled

it and fitted it into a pie pan, bake at 425 degrees for ten minutes.

In the meantime, back at the range, saute three cups of thinly sliced onions

in three tablespoons of butter. Spoon into the baked pastry shell.

Add one and one quarter cups of sour cream and 1/4 of a teaspoon of salt to

two eggs, well beaten.

Blend two tablespoons of flour with a quarter cup of sour creams and combine this

with the egg mixture.

Pour over the onions and bake at 325 degreesF for thirty minutes.

It is nice garnished with bacon curls.....

Very deliciously edible.....

When wool dyeing was one of my passions I used to save the thin papery skins of onions

and sometimes I would beg them from the local grocer,  and they

made a wonderful variety of yellows and golds with just an alum mordant and a bit of

baking soda and cream of tartar.

Also, for many years in my garden a cousin of the onion has been keeping company with the tulips

and looks very tall and elegant amongst them - the allium, also available

in white and pinks.

For more interesting Os visit here at ABC Wednesday

with many thanks to Roger, Denise and the people on their team

who come to visit you....