Creamed Onion Recipe
I've decided to add this to my menu... I want to use fresh pearl onions and would like to add some petite peas to it. But all the recipes I've found for it have used frozen onions or have some kinda horrifing ingredients (Like a ritz cracker topping!)
Anyone have a simple, herby, version with no topping?
--Dommy!
Dommy!
Nov 11, 2005 06:20PM
I steam the onions with the skins on, and peel them after they're done. Set them aside. Make a cream sauce, you can add a little of the onion steaming water to it, salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg. That's all I do. Put the onions into the sauce to reheat. That's it. You can keep the dish warm in a double boiler for about half an hour.
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You can also parboil them, which is what my mom used to do, then blanch them in icewater. The skins will slip right off...actually, my mom really boiled the bejeezus out of them and just dumped them into her usual white sauce, whereas I prefer to mask them with a fairly rich bechamel in a gratin dish (yup, I use nutmeg, too, or sometimes mace), sprinkle panko crumbs (mixed w/parmesan or not) over all and bake until bubbly, then quick under the broiler.
Okay, I do this to lots of vegetables. I LIKE it...
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I like the sound of this, Will. I even have a gratin dish! It's never occurred to me to use Panko as a topping; I've used it only for frying. Thanks for a nice variation. Pat
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I discovered panko about the same time I scored my fab tinned-copper gratin pans at a yard sale. Since then they have been inextricably intertwined...topped/coated everything from rack of lamb (over a layer of Dijon mustard mixed with olive oil) to anything-with-cheese-sauce to small recipes of mac & cheese. Yummy.
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For an extra treat... use the water you boil your potatoes in, to cook the onion into.
Then use that water in your sauce.
Recycling at it's finest! And your sauce will thank you for it.
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Peeling pearl onions is quite a chore!
Take it from somebody who knows, Dommy -- one of the few convenience foods that I, 99.9% of the time, will substitute for fresh, are frozen pearl onions. I discovered them after making one of my favorite greek dishes, stifado, for a party of 50. After hand peeling somewhere north of 7 pounds of pearl onions, I swore I'd never make the dish again, despite loving the result. Then a lightbulb went off and I thought, why not use frozen? So the next time I used the frozen, and have never looked back. At least with my stifado recipe, you absolutely cannot tell the difference, and the time savings is immense.
As for creamed onions, my grandmother's recipe calls for a very simple white sauce, made with milk (she wings it -- I go by the proportions for white sauce in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, for the thick sauce). She seasons it with seasoned salt, fresh ground pepper, and a tiny bit of freshly grated nutmeg. No topping, just stir the onions into the sauce, and put in a pyrex/oven safe casserole dish, heat until bubbly and serve. It's not gourmet, but both her creamed onions and creamed cabbage are must haves at our holiday meals.
Another suggestion for you would be to use the recipe for cauliflower au gratin from Julia Child, but substitute onions.
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how do i cream onions?
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I plan to use the frozen pearl onions because the fresh ones are either too big or too small as well as for the convienence. I was thinking of adding roasted garlic to the cream sauce and topping it with fresh bread crumbs mixed with garlic butter and gruyere. When I was a kid my mother made the creamed onions and topped it with chopped peanuts. I don't know why except they are two of my father's favorite things. Enjoy.
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The peanut topping for creamed onions is classic Old Dominion (Virginia). Was there a hint of Sherry and some nutmeg in the sauce?
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My mom used to make something like this when I was a kid. Sometimes she would use pearl onions, but most of the time she would use leeks. Slice thin, saute in butter till soft then bake with a mixture of grated hard boiled egg , soft bread crumbs and a standard white sauce mixed with just a hint of fresh nutmeg. She would then top the whole dish with a very lite topping of fresh homemade bread crumbs that was mixed with soft butter, olive oil and a hint of garlic. Baked until hot and bubbly. The hard boiled egg in the white sauce sounds strange, but for some reason really works with this dish. Thanks for making me remember something from my childhood that I loved! Think I'll make it this weekend.
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Are pearl onions a lot milder or sweeter than normal onions? What happens if you make creamed onions with sauted yellow onions, white onions or shallots? Thanks.
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This recipe is so easy!
place 1 bag small onions in the top of a double boiler cover with heavy cream. Season with nutmeg, pepper and garlic salt to taste. Simmer for about 3 hours
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