Saturday, April 21, 2007

Roasted Vidalia Onions

Bonus recipe! Since in the previous post I mentioned Vidalia Onions I thought it might be nice to give you a really simple way to roast these babies. This is really simple but makes a fine side dish to a grilled steak or the like.

Heat your oven to 400 degrees F.

I use a jelly roll pan but any large flat non stick pan with a lip will do. I also line the bottom of my pan with parchment paper to save on cleanup hassles. Serves 6 people.

3 large Vidalia onions ( I have used the Walla Walla onions when Vidalias weren't available)
olive oil
kosher salt
black pepper

Peel and halve the onions so that the root is on one end and stem is on the other. You might say cut them at the equator with the stem end being the north pole and the root end being the south pole. This is important in how they hold together in cooking. Carefully cut an X in the root and stem ends down about a 1/3 of inch. Coat the cut side of the onions with olive oil and sprinkle with some salt and pepper and place them face down on the pan and then oil and salt and pepper the root and stem ends which should be facing up now.
Roast these in center of your 400 degree oven for about 40 minutes or until they begin to brown some what and are tender. This is good and cheap eats.

If you want potatoes with your meal you can do the same thing with them. I like Yukon gold but plain old russets will work fine too. Wash the potatoes and pat dry. Cut them in half and oil and season them like you did the onions putting them face down on the same pan with the onions. They will be done in the same forty minutes that the onions take. I use this same method for potatoes a lot and it also works for squash, large carrots, beets etc. It is called the "400 for 40" method and is a good way to roast vegetables of all types.

Remember to think outside the box with these recipes. Sometimes for a change I will add a different seasoning to the onions or potatoes or both. Paprika, Coriander, Curry, Chipotle, whatever.

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