World Of Flavours: 12 Ways With Onions

Food
World Of Flavours: 12 Ways With Onions
intro
Whether you’re one to load up on raw rings atop your hamburger or head to the hills at the first sign of a chive, there’s no denying that onions are ubiquitous in kitchens worldwide. As versatile as they are variable, onions pack a punch whether sliced, diced, creamed, grilled, or fried. Salads like sumac onion salad, and sauces like Mexican staple pico de gallo are heavy on the piquant snap of raw onions, whereas sweet caramelised onions add earthy depth to a host of comfort foods including quiche and the inimitable Philly cheese steak sandwich. Read on for some of the world’s most beloved dishes starring the humble onion in all its forms.

By Annie B. Shapero

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Food
World Of Flavours: 12 Ways With Onions.
Scallion
Chinese Scallion Pancake – Crispy on the outside, chewy and pillowy on the inside, it’s easy to fill up on scallion pancakes, especially when dipped in tangy soy and rice vinegar sauce. Also known as cōngyóubǐng, or in Korean cuisine as the pajeon, they’re a street food staple and popular restaurant appetiser made from long snakes of wheat or rice flour dough speckled with scallions, curled to form a circle and pan-fried to perfection.

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World Of Flavours: 12 Ways With Onions.
Cipolline
Cipolline In Agrodolce Al Forno (Sweet And Sour Baked Onions) – Italian cuisine has very mixed feelings about onions. They’re rarely the star of the show, and when they appear, they’re typically browned in the early stages, alone or as part of a mirepoix for ragout or risotto. This side dish, however, is popular throughout the country and utilises the sweet, flat cipollino or other sweet and tender type like pearl onions. It’s simple to make and, thanks to the interplay of caramel and that zingy vinegar, quite addictive – whether warm out of the oven or served at room temperature.

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Food
World Of Flavours: 12 Ways With Onions.
soup
French Onion Soup – An icon of French brasserie cuisine, our list would be incomplete without soupe à l’oignon. Buttery sautéed onions and consommé topped with a crunchy, gooey cap of melted cheese and toast is a nostalgic flavour for all ages. For something on the lighter side, potato leek soup skips the cheese but makes up for all that creaminess with potatoes and tender strands of leek.

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Food
World Of Flavours: 12 Ways With Onions.
Bloomin
The Bloomin’ Onion – If you’ve ever stopped at an all-American ‘family dining’ chain establishment, there’s a good chance you’ve had the bloomin’ onion. The dish was first made popular at Australian-themed Outback Steakhouse during the mid-’80s, but the trend has since spread, much to the chagrin of line chefs everywhere. The bloomin’ onion, aka the onion flower or crispy onion blossom, requires a sharp knife, a steady hand and a deep fryer. It involves carving the onion without coring it entirely, dipping it in beer batter and then deep frying. The layers open and cook to a perfect crisp. When done right, it’s a shareable appetiser that multiple people can tear into. Dipping sauces vary from ketchup to creamy remoulade. If you’re feeling brave, a special tool also exists to facilitate the process.

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Food
World Of Flavours: 12 Ways With Onions.
Bhaji
Onion Bhaji – Also known as onion pakora or onion pakoda, onion bhaji fritters are a must on the Indian appetiser platter. They consist of thinly sliced onions in a richly spiced batter made from chickpea flour, known as basan or gram flour, pan-fried to a deep crispy bronze and served alongside chutney and sweet sauces for a powerful flavour combination.

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Food
World Of Flavours: 12 Ways With Onions.
Salad
Sumac Onion Salad – This salad of raw or marinated onions topped with ground citrus-scented sumac spice and served alongside fresh herbs is a staple throughout Turkish, Persian and Assyrian cuisine. Try it with a sprig of parsley and brined sheep’s cheese, like feta or beyaz peynir, folded into warm flatbread as a starter or a light meal.

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Food
World Of Flavours: 12 Ways With Onions.
Tortilla
Tortilla Espanola – A signature of the Spanish tapas tradition, the tortilla española, also known as Spanish omelette or tortilla de patatas, appears throughout Spain and Latin America. It features thinly sliced and sautéed potatoes and onions cooked into a tall, sliceable frittata. It’s served across the country at any temperature, from warm to tepid and even cold. The dish is hearty and inexpensive, and is believed to have been invented during the 19th-century Spanish civil wars, but may also have roots as far back as 17th-century South and Central America where the tuber found its way to Europe.

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Food
World Of Flavours: 12 Ways With Onions.
Kremmithopita
Kremmithopita – An oniony cousin of the classic Greek spinach spanakopita and cheese-filled tiropita, in this variation, flaky folds of phyllo dough cradle sauteed onions, feta cheese and aromatic parsley and dill. You can use all types, but spring onions are especially popular for their sweetness. The dish is time-consuming, but well worth the effort.

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Food
World Of Flavours: 12 Ways With Onions.
Zwiebelkuchen
Zwiebelkuchen – German onion pie may not ring as familiar a bell as sausage and sauerkraut, but it’s a much-loved autumnal dish, made from caramelised onions, bacon or Black Forest ham, and a rich base with eggs and cream. The recipe varies from region to region but always includes some sort of crust, and can be made thin in a sheet pan or thick and sliceable like a quiche. Best enjoyed with one of Germany’s sweet and aromatic wines.

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Food
World Of Flavours: 12 Ways With Onions.
Cebollas
Cebollas Encurtidas (Pickled Onions) – You’ll find these throughout Peruvian cuisine, most famously atop raw seafood ceviche. Cebollas encurtidas are traditionally prepared with red onions very simply pickled in lime juice – great to toss in salads or into tacos, or even to just munch on their own if you’re a die-hard onion lover. An Indian version, Sirke Wale Pyaaz, is known for their bright pink colour and sweet, tangy flavour. Find them alongside all kinds of dishes, most notably tandoori.

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World Of Flavours: 12 Ways With Onions.
liver
Polish Liver And Onions – It doesn’t get any more Polish than a steaming plate of Wątróbka z Cebulą! Most certainly an acquired taste, onions and apples browned in butter play the principal role of balancing the tinny aftertaste of liver. There are some tricks to reducing the liver’s metallic tinge, like soaking it in milk before cooking, and not salting it prior to cooking. For others, that old familiar flavour is exactly what makes this dish special. Sweet vidalia onions are often recommended, but not necessary as the apples also provide some sugar.

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Food
World Of Flavours: 12 Ways With Onions.
dolma
Sogan Dolma – Bosnian beef-stuffed onions are an iconic comfort food. In the tradition of other popular stuffed vegetables, like cabbage, pepper and grape leaves, they’re filled with a savoury meat-and-rice mixture and baked. In this recipe, you use the entire onion, the inside for the filling and the outer layers as a shell. A vinegar bath helps remove the sharpness from the onion, and what results is a tender, creamy vessel filled to the brim with paprika and pepper-scented beef, and topped with a dollop of sour cream.

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World Of Flavours: 12 Ways With Onions

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