When back in 2003 Victoria Caroline Adams, better known as Victoria Beckham -or the posh Spice Girl if, like me, you are older than a forest- came to live in Spain because her husband signed for Real Madrid, she said that this country smelled of garlic. Far from offending me, I wonder where it must have ended up so that it didn’t also smell of onion, its eternal dance partner in those stir-fries that are the base of everything rich and give meaning to the stew, the stew, the sauce and In short, to everything (especially when the tomato joins the party).
The onion is one of the bases of gastronomy in a large part of the world, one of those humble ingredients that gives meaning to everything and whose absence sends you to the nearest store, no matter what you are going to cook. But, is the same onion used to make soup as to fill Chinese dumplings? How can we store it so that it lasts longer in good condition? Is there any that is better in a salad and does not repeat? Can it be frozen? Which one serves as a seasoning for the suckling pig and which one is the most suitable for the stir-fry? In this user manual we will tell you everything about this popular bulb.
DRIED ONIONS
The most popular and resistant onions – they contain less water than fresh ones, which is why they last longer – can be roasted, pickled, fried, stewed, battered, caramelized, sautéed and much more. The most used and to which we can turn when in a recipe they say “onion” without a last name is the so-called yellow onion, although on the outside it is rather brown or golden and with thick skin, while on the inside it is white with green and yellowish touches. It has a stronger flavor than other varieties because its sulfur content is higher, so it can be a bit aggressive raw -if you want to drink it like this, you can leave it for a while in cold water with salt and a splash of vinegar so that it loses strength- and stings in the eyes when chopped. On the other hand, when cooked, it becomes sweet, which makes it perfect for stir-fries, broths and stocks, sauces or stews.
The sweet onion It looks similar to the yellow one but it is more flattened and the outer skin is much finer. Varieties such as Vidalia, which is grown in the South, or Walla Walla, a county to which they arrived from Italy, are grown in the United States. They can be used to make breaded rings, onion soup and to caramelize it. Remember that for the latter you do not need added sugar, but rather time: if you want to speed up the process a bit, you can add a pinch of baking soda.
The white onions they have an even milder flavor, which makes them ideal for eating in salads or in raw sauces -such as pebre or pico de gallo- and their outer layers are as thin as tissue paper. Some varieties such as the one from Fuentes de Ebro with DO are especially delicate and tasty, large in size, perfect for eating stir-fried and maintaining their crunchy texture -their layers are quite thick, perfect to taste when bitten- without being aggressive: the tortilla that appears in this post is a perfect example of how to use it. They are also very tasty stuffed with tuna or tuna and stewed in tomato.
Let’s go with the most colorful versions: the Figueras onion; So called because it arrived from that train station to be marketed in Barcelona. Originally from the Alt Empordà and currently cultivated mainly in Lleida, it has thin layers of pink color, mild flavor and medium size. It’s juicy, sweet, and not too hot so it can be prepared pretty much any way (although its color does fade when cooking beyond sautéing, as it browns). The red or purple onion, widely used originally in South and Central America and already completely popularized here, is somewhat less powerful than the yellow one and has a mild bitterness at the end, which if it bothers you can be removed with the same system as the spiciness of the yellow onion or with a short, quick blast of microwave on full power. It is very good pickled -it is the one used for suckling pig, but if you have it in the fridge you can also use it in salads, sandwiches or with canned fish-, and also raw in hamburgers or sandwiches.
The french chives are a miniature variety mostly used for pickling or as a garnish, glazed with butter as in this Fried Webos recipe. If you are too lazy to peel them, you can resort to the frozen version, and even caramelize those that are already pickled for a delicious sweet and sour effect and perfect to accompany powerful and fatty meats such as duck or pork ribs.
FRESH ONIONS
The spring onion it is the most popular, easy to find and versatile: you can use the young leaves as if they were chives or green onion, to finish all kinds of dishes, creams, stews -in lentils it is delicious-, in salads or tortillas; we can also add it to the broth once off the heat to provide a fresh and herbal touch. With its white part we can do the same as with a yellow onion, although this is less spicy and strong in general. It is not an immature version of the onion, but a different species called Allium fistulosum.
The green onion or Chinese chive a gap has also been made in our greengrocers; We can use its white part in stir-fries and stir-fries and the raw green part as if it were chives. It is very good both in Asian dumplings of all kinds and in rice paper rolls, both fresh and crunchy, or topping a miso soup or ramen.
HOW TO PRESERVE AND CUT THEM WITHOUT CRYING
The best place to keep dry onions is a dry and cool place -before they used to be kept in the basement, but now not all of us have that but we can put a box or a sack on the balcony-, so they don’t think it’s the time to germinate and get to it. It is not a good idea to store them next to the potatoes, since both release ethylene, a gas that will accelerate their aging and cause them to spoil sooner. It can be frozen in pieces, when it is thawed it will lose part of its water, so later it will only be used to fry or stew, not to eat raw.
The fresh varieties are kept in the least cold part of the fridge, like the mixture of grass -on the stem- and fresh vegetables that they are. david chang He taught us during the confinement that putting the green onion in a glass of water after cutting its green part makes it sprout again and we can continue using it.
“How to cut onions without crying” gives 76,400 results in Google, the vast majority absolutely useless or impractical and incompatible with fine cuts like a pen or cubes, such as cutting them under water. To minimize the emission of anilase -a protein that remains in the air when cutting this bulb and associates with lacrimal factor synthase to irritate our eyes and make us cry– We can previously cool the onion for a while in the fridge or freezer, but the most important thing is to have a very sharp knife. This way we will cut it cleanly instead of crushing it and we will minimize those emissions: being in a well-ventilated area and separating yourself as much as possible from the board instead of putting your face directly on it also helps.
CLOSE COUSINS
The shallot It is a curious combination between garlic and onion, both in its shape -they form groups of bulbs similar to the former but have layers like the latter- and in its flavour. It is one of the characteristic ingredients of French cuisine, where it is used both in hot and candied sauces, in vinaigrette to accompany oysters.
Other Allium well known in the kitchen is the leek, from which we can take advantage of absolutely everything: the green parts and the roots for the broth, the intermediate for creams or soups such as ‘cock-a-leekie’ and the white for stir-fry, pale creams such as vichyssoise -canonical or with pear- or stews like porrusadla. They are also delicious steamed with tartar sauce or in a salad, roasted, barbecued or candied: it is really difficult to spoil a leek and very easy to give it prominence.
The socks They are surely the variety of spring onion that is most used as an excuse to get together to eat and drink with friends as if there were no tomorrow in the Catalan winter (and, increasingly, in the rest of the country). In that ancestral ritual known as calçotada, they are roasted over a live fire, wrapped in newspaper and placed on a tile. Once at the table, the burnt layer is removed, they are bathed in romesco or salvitxada and eaten until the green part ends, accompanied by grilled meat and chicken, potatoes and plenty of wine. If Valls falls far away and you can’t make coals in your kitchen, you can always roast them in the oven, which is not the same but it does a trick.
The chive is a herb (Allium schoenoprasum) which is used mainly as a decoration for all kinds of dishes, cut very thin at the time so that it does not darken and lose body: the best way to do it is from front to back -and not from top to bottom- and with a well sharpened knife If you are going to use it for only a couple of dishes and you have bought a tray, you can extend its life by adding it to a flavored butter: later you can use it on toast, to accompany salmon, to finish off grilled meat or in a pasta dish.
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