Onions!
On a recent quest for inspiration I visited my Parisian Mecca-Of-All-Things-Food, "La Grande Epiciere" at La Bon Marche. While grazing the very large confiture section, I noticed an abundance of onion confiture. There must have been 10 or 12 varieties. Jams, jellies and other preserves are plentiful in French cooking but this seemed excessive... Onion?! Was it sweet, savory? What would I eat it on? I bought one and tried it on the most logical confiture carrier - toast. Granted, it was a gluten-free toast but this combination was unexciting and left me wondering what else I could put it on. After pulling just about everything I had out of my fridge, and incessantly dipping and combining more times than I'd care to admit, I came to the conclusion that my Onion confiture would best be eaten on goat cheese!
Onions carry the stigma of being at best a delicious thing to put on a burger and at worst an un-sexy date food. But the reality is, they are very good for your health. Anything that can prolong life, keep my skin supple and strong, and fight infection and disease is super sexy in my book! While the Onions is certainly a vegetable that gets taken for granted, it's necessary in most cooking, enhances a wide range of foods and really is quite forgiving.
My first lesson in onion forgiveness was from Bill the Appetizer Guy when I was a line cook at Roy's in NY. He said, "Krulak, you touch those onions one more time and I am going to cut your hair off." What he so elegantly was trying to teach me was that, most often an onion is best left untouched. It needs time to cook, to simmer and caramelize on its own.
Contrary to myth, onions do not smell. The sulfur fumes emitted when an onion is cut create the odor and make you cry. To decrease the potency of a cut raw onion, soak the slices in cold water for at least ten minutes. This decreases the strength and "oniony" aftertaste.
Benefits of Onions
Again, this is one of those veggies I could write volumes on the benefits of but, safe to say, Onions should find a place in all of our diets. I like to call the bulbs systematic vegetables. Just as they go along with pretty much any food and create a neutral edge, they can help cure or balance almost any ailment, from sexual dysfunction to anemia! (Yes, you did read that correctly.) The Onion's antiseptic and anti-bacterial properties aid in fighting infections in the stomach and digestive system. There is nothing much better for a cold or respiratory infection than juicing an onion and mixing it with honey. The pungency helps blood circulation and causes a bit of sweating, which helps fight the battle. What I'm most fascinated by is how eating just a half an onion a day can lower cholesterol and prevent bone loss! For me this is great. How a dairy-free vegetarian ended up with high cholesterol is one of life's biggest mysteries.
