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In Praise of the Humble Onion

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Onions have always been sort of bit players in mountain culinary performances. They make regular appearances in a wide variety of dishes such as soups, stews, and casseroles. Similarly, the pungent vegetable has long been used to add a bit of punch or piquancy to things like soup beans, potatoes, and salads. Yet I would argue that this humble though popular vegetable deserves wider recognition as a mainstay of high country food.

As a greedy-gut youngster, one of my favorite fall snacks when I headed out for an afternoon of squirrel hunting after a day of school was a chunk of cold cornbread and a raw onion. No respectable mountain garden was complete without a row or two of onions, normally grown from sets but sometimes from seed, and many plots featured not only onions grown through these standard approaches but so-called “walking onions” that self seeded each year.

Onions not only add savory taste to a wide variety of dishes; they enjoy a number of additional advantages. One of these is that they could be eaten at any stage of development. Green onions, often with some or all the stalk utilized as well, are ideal for blending with other early vegetables such as lettuce and radishes for a welcome return to fresh food. Or green onions can be chopped up for a “kilt” salad (lettuce, crumbled bacon or fried streaked meat, and onion) dressed with hot grease. Thanks to year-round availability of fresh vegetables in today’s world, that first taste of spring doesn’t have quite as much meaning as it once did, but by the same token if you’ve never had a wilted salad yours has been a life characterized by a bit of culinary deprivation.

Another significant attribute associated with onions in the eyes of our forebears was that the hardy root crop, when left where planted until the stalks withered and then further dried in a handy spot such as beneath the tin roof of a barn or perhaps in a smokehouse, stored quite well. Braided strands of onions, with their dried foliage being used for the braiding, were a common sight in mountain kitchens or in rooms where other dehydrated goods such as leather britches and dried apples were stored. Onions could be removed from the strand as needed, any indications of one going bad were readily observable, and the bunched bulbs even formed a nice decorative touch to a room. Here’s a quintet of suggestions for enjoying this stellar member of the vegetable family.

Vidalia Onion Casserole

Throughout my life I’ve heard the term “sweet onions” applied to assorted varieties of this traditional mountain root crop, but in my view the description is a misnomer. Admittedly, some onions grown in the high country have less bite than others, but none are truly sweet. Certainly no onions from mountain gardens come close to those produced in the special soil and agricultural circumstances found in counties around the south-central Georgia town of Vidalia. These onions, truly worthy of being categorized as sweet, are readily available in your local grocery throughout the year. While you can substitute other sweet onions in this recipe, none quite match the rightly heralded Vidalia strain. This is a recipe that requires considerable time, thanks primarily to the fact that slow is the way to go when it comes to caramelizing onions, but it is worth every minute expended in preparation.

Preheat a large, non-stick skillet. Once it is hot add butter, sliced onions, salt, and pepper. Sauté the onions for 45 to 60 minutes over low heat, stirring every few minutes, until they are soft and begin to take on a golden “see through” glow. You don’t want the heat high enough to brown the onions as they cook down and caramelize.

Once the onions are translucent, dump them into a large plastic bowl and mix in the sour cream, mayonnaise, and cheeses. Stir the ingredients together and then use a spatula to scrape the mixture into a baking dish that has been coated with cooking spray. Top with the cracker crumbs and bake at 375 degrees for a half hour or until the casserole bubbles and is gold on top.

Baked Onions with Cheese

Onions partner well with cheese in many ways, with probably the best known being as companion adornments topping hot dogs or hamburgers. Here’s an onion and cheese combo that makes a dandy side dish with any meal. One of its major advantages is that, unlike many onion preparations, it requires minimal prep time.

Add sliced onions to a greased baking dish. Season with salt and pepper. Dot with butter. Sprinkle with water. Cover dish and bake at 400 degrees for about 30 to 40 minutes or until the onions are tender. During final 10 minutes of cooking, top with grated cheese and remove cover.

Fried Onions

Health considerations, cholesterol levels, fat consumption, and the like notwithstanding, frying has always loomed large in mountain approaches to cooking. That is certainly true when it comes to onions. A dish of them fried to a turn, usually in grease from bacon or streaked meat, where they are just beginning to brown around the edges, makes a mighty fine accompaniment to an all vegetable meal featuring staples such as cornbread, beans, and potatoes. Similarly, fried onions (often mixed in with potatoes) are almost de rigueur when fried trout are on the menu. As is so often the case with onions, slow and long cooking is the trick to getting wonderful deep color and flavor. In addition to the uses already noted, fried onions can be used as a topping for hamburgers, hot dogs, or steak. They are sometimes even served with scrambled eggs.

To make fried onions, slice several onions thin (figure one medium to large onion per person) and fry in grease until done. You will not need much grease because onions exude quite a bit of liquid as they cook, and they reduce down to a much smaller amount of space than what appears when they have just been sliced.

Squash and Onions

Slice squash and onions in thin rounds or dice the vegetables. Melt butter or bacon grease in pan. Add squash and onions, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Cook until tender. A very quick and simple recipe that is served often in Appalachia.

French Onion Soup

Perhaps the best known of all stand-alone onion dishes is French onion soup. It takes some time to prepare, but if made in large quantities will keep for several days. All you have to do with leftovers is take out the liquid portion of the recipe below and follow the steps for the final four ingredients to have a second round of soup.

Melt butter with olive oil in a stock pot. Add sliced onions and stir steadily with a wooden spoon until tender and translucent. Do not allow the onions to get hot enough to brown. Once the onions are ready, add the beef broth, wine, and spices. Simmer on low heat for 30 to 40 minutes.

Shortly before the liquid finishes simmering, turn on your oven broiler. Spoon or ladle soup into oven-safe bowls or large soup mugs and float a slice of bread atop each (or break bread into chunks if you prefer). Layer the top with a slice of provolone cheese, a sprinkling of diced Swiss cheese, and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. Place bowls atop a cookie sheet at broil until the cheese bubbles and browns a bit (2 to 3 minutes). This dish, served with a green or fruit salad, makes a fine meal.

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