Starting Onions
Some of the specialty onions such as cipollinis also come in long-day varieties. If you have yet to try them, cipollinis are about the size of a slightly flattened golf ball with thin skin and translucent white flesh. They contain more residual sugar than other onions, which makes them ideal for roasting or caramelizing. Another popular specialty is the heirloom Italian red torpedo, long, red-purple, spindle-shaped onions with a mild sweet flesh, good when mature or when pulled early and used as salad onions.
An easy way to start onions from seed indoors is to sow seed in two rows, about a quarter-inch deep, in 4- x 6-inch deep containers – wood or plastic seed trays or recycled plastic salad boxes – filled with a good seed-starting mix. Keep the containers in a warm place and constantly moist for a couple of weeks, until germination starts. When the shoots are five or six inches tall, clip the tops to make the seedlings easier to handle and use the clippings in cooking. By early May, seedlings should be ready to set out in the garden.
Once your onions have flourished and grown into handsome, multi-hued orbs, they can be used in an onion gratin.
Onion Gratin with Fresh Herbs
1/4 cup butter
8 large onions (about 3 1/2 pounds), peeled and sliced 1/4-inch thick
2 cups heavy cream
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 cups fresh bread crumbs
sea salt to taste
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Melt butter in a heavy, oven-proof skillet over medium heat, add onions and saute them, stirring frequently, until translucent. Reduce heat to medium-low, pour cream into the skillet over the onions and simmer until cream thickens and is reduced by half, about fifteen minutes.
In a separate bowl, stir bread crumbs with thyme and parsley. Add salt to taste. Remove onions and cream from the heat. Top with seasoned bread crumbs and grated cheese. Place in preheated oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bread crumbs and cheese form a golden crust and cream begins to bubble. Remove from oven and allow to rest for about five minutes before serving.
Vegetarian, Raw and Vegan with Bill & Sheila
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