When Victoria Caroline Adams, better known as Victoria Beckham – or the chic Spice Girl if you’re older than a forest like me – came to Spain in 2003 because her husband signed for Real Madrid, she said the country stank of garlic. Far from offending me, I wonder where it must have ended up that it didn’t also smell like onions, its eternal dance partner in those stir-fries that are the basis of all richness and give meaning to the stew, the stew, the sauce and, in short, everything (especially when the tomato is involved).
The onion is one of the staples of gastronomy in much of the world, one of those humble ingredients that give meaning to everything and the absence of which sends you to the next store, no matter what you’re about to cook. But is the same onion used to make soup as to fill Chinese dumplings? How can we store it to keep it in good condition longer? Is there anything better in a salad that doesn’t repeat itself? Can it be frozen? Which is used as a spice for the suckling pig and which is best for the stir-fries? In this user guide we will tell you all about this popular light bulb.
DRIED ONIONS
The most popular and resilient onions—they contain less water than fresh ones, so they last longer—can be roasted, pickled, fried, steamed, breaded, caramelized, sautéed, and more. The most common and to which we can turn when there is “onion” in a recipe without a surname, is the so-called yellow onion, although it is rather brown or golden on the outside and thick-skinned, while on the inside it is white with green and yellowish reflections. It has a stronger flavor than other varieties because it has a higher sulfur content, so it can be a bit harsh raw – if you want to drink it like that, you can let it sit in cold water with salt and a dash of vinegar for a while so that it does loses strength when chopping and burns his eyes. On the other hand, it becomes sweet when cooked, making it perfect for stir-fries, stocks and broths, sauces or stews.
That sweet onion It looks similar to the yellow one, but is flatter and the outer skin is much finer. Varieties like Vidalia, grown in the South, or Walla Walla, a county they came to from Italy, are grown in the United States. They can be used to prepare breaded rings, onion soup and to caramelize. Remember that for the latter you don’t need extra sugar, just time: if you want to speed up the process a bit, you can add a pinch of baking soda.
That white onions They have an even milder flavor, making them ideal for eating in salads or in raw sauces – like pebre or pico de gallo – and their outer layers are as thin as tissue paper. Some varieties, like those of Fuentes de Ebro with DO, are particularly tender and tasty, large, perfect for stir-fries and maintaining their crunchy texture – their layers are quite thick, perfect for biting – without being aggressive: the tortilla featured in this post appears is a perfect example of how to use them. They are also very tasty stuffed with tuna or tuna and braised in tomatoes.
Let’s move on to the most colorful versions: the Figueras onion; So named because it came from this station to be marketed in Barcelona. Originally from the Alt Empordà and currently mainly grown in Lleida, it has thin layers of pink color, mild flavor and medium size. It’s juicy, sweet, and not overly hot, so it can be prepared almost any way you like (although cooking will tend to fade in color beyond sautéing as it browns). That red or purple onion, originally widespread in South and Central America and already fully popular here, is slightly less powerful than the yellow and has a mild bitterness at the end which, if disturbing, can be removed with the same system as the pungency of the yellow onion or with a short, rapid burst of microwaves at full power. It is very good pickled – it is 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.
That french chives They are a miniature variety used primarily for pickling or as a side dish and glazed with butter as in this Webos Fritos recipe. If you’re too lazy to peel them, you can resort to the frozen version and even caramelize pre-poured ones for a delicious sweet and sour effect, perfect with hearty and fatty meats like duck or pork ribs.
FRESH ONIONS
That spring onion It is the most popular, easy to find and versatile: you can use the young leaves like chives or spring onions to enhance all kinds of dishes, creams, stews – it is delicious in lentils -, in salads or tortillas; We can also add it to the broth once it’s off the heat to give it a fresh and herbaceous note. With its white part we can do the same as with a yellow onion, although it is generally less sharp and strong. It’s not an immature version of the onion, but a different species called Allium fistulosum.
That green onion or Chinese chives A gap has also arisen at 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 goes very well in both Asian dumplings of all kinds and in rice paper rolls, fresh and crispy, or as a topping for miso soup or ramen.
HOW TO PRESERVE AND CUT THEM WITHOUT CRYING
Dry onions are best stored in a dry and cool place – they used to be in the basement, but we don’t all have that anymore, but we can put a box or sack on the balcony – so they don’t I don’t think it’s up to the Time is to sprout and reach it. It’s not a good idea to store them next to the potatoes, as both release ethylene, a gas that accelerates their aging and makes them spoil faster. It can be frozen in pieces, it loses some of its water when thawed, so later it is only used for frying or braising, not for eating raw.
The fresh varieties are kept in the least cold part of the fridge, like the mix of weed – on a stick – and fresh vegetables that they are. David Chang taught us during confinement that if the spring onion is put in a glass of water after cutting off the green part, it will sprout again and we can continue to use it.
“How to cut onions without crying” returns 76,400 results on Google, the vast majority being utterly useless or impractical and incompatible with fine cuts like a pen or dice, like slicing underwater. To minimize the emission of anilase — a protein that remains in the air when this onion is cut and is linked to tear synthase factor to irritate our eyes and make us cry — we can soak the onion a while beforehand chill in the fridge or freezer. but the most important thing is to have a sharp knife. In this way we will cut it cleanly instead of crushing it and we will minimize these emissions: it also helps to be in a well-ventilated area and to separate yourself from the board as much as possible instead of putting your face directly towards it lay.
CLOSE COUSINS
That shallot It’s a curious combination between garlic and onion, both in its shape – forming clumps of onions similar to the former but having layers like the latter – and in its flavor. It is one of the signature ingredients of French cuisine, where it is used both in hot and candied sauces and in oyster vinaigrettes.
Another well-known allium in the kitchen is the allium Leek, from which we can utilize absolutely anything: the greens and roots for the broth, the intermediate for creams or soups like “Cock-a-Leekie” and the whites for stir-fries, light creams like Vichyssoise – canon or with pear or stews like Porrusadla. They are also delicious steamed with tartar sauce or in a salad, fried, grilled or candied: it is really difficult to spoil a leek and very easy to emphasize it.
That socks They are certainly the spring onion variety most often used during the Catalan winter (and increasingly in the rest of the country) as an excuse to meet up with friends to eat and drink like there’s no tomorrow. In this ancient ritual known as calçotada, they are roasted over a living fire, wrapped in newspaper, and placed on a tile. Arriving at the table, the burned 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 lots of wine. If Valls is far away and you can’t make coals in your kitchen, you can still roast them in the oven, which isn’t the same, but it does a trick.
That chives It is a herb (Allium schoenoprasum) mainly used as a decoration for all kinds of dishes, cut very thinly at the moment so that it does not turn dark and lose body: preferably from the front to the back – and not from the top to the bottom – and with a sharp knife. If you only use it for a few dishes and you bought a tray, you can extend its life by adding it to a flavored butter: later you can use it on toast, as an accompaniment to salmon and to finish grilled meats, or in one pasta dish.
Some onion dates
Allium cepa, of the Alliaceae family, is native to the mountainous areas of Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, although its cultivation has been widespread for a long time (there is evidence from 3,200 BC). It grows biennially and adapts quite well to all types of temperatures and soils, which is why about 97 million tons are produced worldwide, where it ranks third in terms of harvested area: it is surpassed only by potatoes and tomatoes. In Spain alone we ate 329.4 million kilos last year and we are the seventeenth producer country in the world with 1,272,928 tons per year: the ranking is led by China with 24,775,344.