This recipe came from King Arthur Flour. If you still have an onion from earlier this season, you’re golden. If not, Vidalias will still be at the market for a few more weeks.
Onions
Greens and Onion “Souffle”
This recipe is great for using up some more of those greens. It will work with your beet greens, radish greens, turnip greens or chard. I wouldn’t use the collards, they just need a little more cooking to be tender. An adaptation of a recipe from Rebecca Lang’s “Quick-Fix Southern: Homemade Hospitality in 30 Minutes or Less.” Greens and onions are such natural companions.
Onion Bhajis
The first recipe I’m sharing is one I learned at the cooking class. The class was led by Gulshan Singh who teaches the most accessible Indian food I know. As much as I cook, and I cook a lot, I always learn something new from her. Tonight’s class was full of recipes featuring onions. Here are some lovely onion fritters – delicious served with yogurt mixed with a little chopped cucumber and some cumin and salt. Saute some of your greens in a little olive oil to serve alongside the fritters and you’ve got a wonderful dinner in very little time.
Onion and Ham/Tasso Tart
Did you see this recipe Deborah Geering published in her blog for Atlanta magazine? It was listed as “Vidalia Onion and Tasso Tart”. I’ve adapted just a smidge. Her notes:
“Taqueria del Sol chef David Waller shares this seasonal recipe featuring Georgia Vidalia onions and tasso, a smoked, cured pork product popular in Cajun cooking. Serve the tart for brunch or a light supper with a green salad. Note that the tart’s crust must be prepared in advance. Lard gives the crust’s dough a flaky texture. If you prefer, you may substitute solid vegetable shortening, butter, or a combination of both.”
Now the onions in our box aren’t Vidalias, but they are sweet onions so they’ll work perfectly here. Easy enough to substitute whatever ham you can get for the tasso. Or eliminate it. Or use bacon …. or Riverview sausage ….. or …….
Orecchiette with Caramelized Onions, Green Beans, Fresh Corn & Jalapeño
Any pasta will do. This recipe came from Fine Cooking magazine.
Cucumber and Onion Salad
This easy recipe is adapted from one prepared by Seth Freedman, the East Atlanta Village Farmers market chef. It’s really a quick pickle and will keep in your refrigerator for up to a week, with the cucumbers and onions softening and becoming more pickle-like the longer they sit in the brine.
Cucumber, Onion, Tomato and Tahini Sandwiches
This recipe is adapted from an idea I saw from Whole Foods. Squeezing out the seeds and pulp from the tomato will keep your sandwich filling from becoming soggy.
Green Beans with Sautéed Onions, Bacon and Basil
This recipe was distributed at a chef demo at the Peachtree Road Farmers Market last year. Simple, classic, delicious.
Pasta with Sausage, Onions and Lettuce
If you’re thinking you’d like to do something with that head of romaine beyond fixing yet another salad, remember that the leaves make fabulous wraps for grilled anything. Or for spring rolls. I came home from the beach a few weeks ago with a bag of wild Atlantic shrimp. I poached the shrimp and then made spring rolls, using shredded romaine in place of the traditional rice noodles. When it came to eating the rolls, I laid each one in another romaine lettuce leaf, and added a few leaves of mint and basil, dipped the whole thing into a spicy Vietnamese dipping sauce and enjoyed.
I also love the idea of slightly wilted romaine lettuce. See what you think about this recipe.
Buttermilk Coleslaw with Green Onions and Cilantro
Last idea for today is a cole slaw recipe for your cabbage and cilantro. It’s from the folks at the PBS show, “America’s Test Kitchen”.