Every week on Foodie Friday, cookbook author and Gourment Warehouse founder Caren McSherry joins CKNW’s Simi Sara with another recipe to wow your guests and up your game in the kitchen.
There are few vegetables quite as dear to a cook’s heart as an onion. They’re versatile, they’re fragrant and they form the base of so many dishes.
But not all onions are created equal.
This week on Foodie Friday, cookbook author and Gourmet Warehouse founder Caren McSherry takes us through some of the most common North American varieties, and what you need to know to make the most of them in your kitchen.
Scroll down for this week’s recipe.
Yellow onions
These are the most common onions you’ll come across. Yellow cooking onions are so common, in fact, that they make up 90 per cent of all the onions grown in North America, McSherry said.
While you can use these onions for almost anything, she warns cooks not to drop them or handle them roughly because they’ll bruise — then rot.
“You know that avocados and bananas and apples and things like that you coddle. But you don’t want to just bang the onions down because they bruise too, and when they bruise the moisture then encourages the mold.”
You should never keep them in the fridge, in plastic or with other vegetables like potatoes, which will encourage them to sprout she said.
White onions
The friendly cousin of yellow onions, white onions are often misleadingly sold as “sweet,” McSherry said.
“They’re lying.”
White onions are generally interchangeable with their yellow counterparts, though they’re somewhat milder in flavour and are a great option for braising, for soups and for stews, McSherry said.
Red onions
According to McSherry, red onions are the mildest of the common North American onions.
Their bright colour also makes them an attractive addition to salads, McSherry said.
When picking out red onions, McSherry advises shoppers to always squeeze them for firmness. If they have some softness, don’t take them.
Vidallia onions
These onions, grown in the U.S. state of Georgia are one of the world’s two sweetest varieties.
They’re available nearly year-round, and have a thin, papery skin — and the best ones are almost flying saucer shaped.
“Some onions, the sign in the supermarket will say ‘sweet.’ Well, they’re not sweet’,” McSherry said.
“If you visualize a baseball, and the bigger and rounder an onion is the less sweet it is. Now take that baseball and squish it down and flat. And the more disk-like, and flatter, the sweeter it is.”
Walla Walla onions
These are the other sweet onions you’ll want to keep an eye out for at supermarkets.
They’re grown just next door in Washington State, but are also only in season for a short period in August, McSherry said.
They also have a short shelf life, because the high moisture content that makes them sweet also makes them sprout very quickly, she added.
“They have about a three week life, so when you buy them don’t go, ‘Walla Walla, I heard they’re the ones,’ and buy like 15 of them.”
Cipollini onions
Cipollini (pronounced chip-oh-lee-knee) literally means “little onions” in Italian, and the nugget-sized vegetables are great for roasting.
You can spot them in the supermarket in small bags, usually about the size of mailing envelope, McSherry said.
Like Walla Wallas, they’ve got a short shelf life, so on’t over-buy.
“They don’t last that long so when you buy them make sure you have a use for them,” McSherry said.
Shallots
These smaller, reddish onions are a staple of french cooking, said McSherry.
“Very French. You wouldn’t see a French kitchen ever without a bin full of them.”
They’re simultaneously milder in their “oniony-ness,” while more powerful in overall flavour. They are extremely versatile, and can go into cooked meals or into salad dressings, McSherry said.
However, cooks beware, they aren’t interchangeable with a yellow or white onion. If your recipe calls for a shallot, use a shallot warns McSherry.
Leeks
Long and green, leeks don’t really look like any of their onion cousins.
But they’re an essential ingredient in many soups, McSherry said.
The dark green ends are only good for soup stock, she said, so when you’re preparing them for other dishes make sure to cut that part off.
Leeks are grown in sand, McSherry adds, so cooks should be sure to clean them carefully to get the grit off.
To do so, cut the stem end off, then the root end, then cut them in half lengthwise and fan the leek out, running it under cold water, advises McSherry.
Alternately, frizzled leeks make a great garnish for protein dishes and salads, McSherry said.
Toss them lightly in flour, then fry them in three to four tablespoons of oil until they’re crispy.
“They’re sweet, they crunch and they’re delicious. And hide them if you’re going to pre-do them, because they’ll disappear.”
Recipe: Parisian four onion soup
Onion Soup ranks as a menu favorite everywhere. The stock should be rich amber colour, full of dark caramelized onions and oozing with a Swiss Gruyère gratin as a crowning finish.
This recipe has it all. If one or more of the onions is unavailable, double up on what you can find. Serves six to eight people.
What you need
- 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter
- 2 cups (approx 1 large) Bermuda Onion, sliced
- 2 cups (approx 1 large) Spanish Onion, sliced
- 2 cups (approx 1 large) White Sweet Onion, sliced
- 2 cups (approx 1 large) Yellow Onion, sliced
- 2 tbsp Sugar
- 4-6 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 8 cups Chicken or Beef Stock
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 2 tbsp Cracked Pepper
- 2 tsp Thyme
- 2 tbsp Dijon Mustard
- 1 tbsp Freshly Ground Tellicherry or black pepper
- 6-8 Toasted French Bread slices rubbed with cut garlic clove (optional)
- 1/2 cup White Wine
- 1/3 cup Brandy
- 2 cups Swiss Gruyère cheese, grated
- 1 cup Fresh Parmesan, grated
How to do it
- Melt the butter in a large soup pot, add the sliced onions and cook for 10 minutes on medium to high
heat. - Sprinkle in the sugar and continue to cook until well caramelized.
- Add the garlic and cook two more minutes.
- Add the stock, bay leaf, cracked pepper, thyme, mustard and ground pepper.
- Simmer for about 30 minutes.
- Cut the French bread into 1/2 inch (1 cm) slices, and toast in a slow oven until well dried out.
- Rub the bread with a cut garlic clove if desired and set aside.
- About 10 minutes before serving the soup, add the wine and brandy.
- Adjust the pepper to taste. Ladle the soup into oven-proof bowls and place a toasted bread slice on top.
- Sprinkle generously with the Swiss cheese and then a little Parmesan. Broil until bubbly and brown.
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