Olla-Podrida: How to Peel Pearl Onions

Sunday, December 11, 2016

Glazed Pearl Onions and Grapes

When I saw the recipe for this dish on epicurious.com I had to laugh to myself. The creator of this recipe said that she did so out of laziness. She found peeling so many pearl onions to be tedious, so decided to mix them with grapes. Obviously, she doesn't know my simple method for peeling pearl onions, nevertheless this dish is genius. It is unique, delicious, and an excellent side dish for beef, chicken, pork, or a great addition to your deli platter or cheese tray. It goes together in a snap, it keeps in the fridge for 3 to 5 days, and can be served warm or at room temperature. I tried it out of curiosity, and I'm really glad that I did. You need to give this a try too. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Glazed Pearl Onions and Grapes

20 ounces Melissa’s red pearl onions
1/3 cup Sherry vinegar
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf
1 1/2 cups Melissa’s Christmas Crunch Grapes (about 1/2 pound)

Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in middle or lower third.

Blanch unpeeled pearl onions in boiling water 2 minutes. Drain and transfer to an ice bath to stop cooking. Peel onions and trim off root ends.

Bring onions, vinegar, and water to a simmer in an ovenproof 12-inch heavy skillet with sugar, butter, bay leaf, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Cover and simmer 3 minutes.

Uncover skillet and transfer to oven. Roast, stirring once or twice, until most of liquid has evaporated, 15 to 18 minutes. Stir in grapes and roast, stirring once or twice, until liquid glazes onions and grapes, 5 to 8 minutes. Discard bay leaf.

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Saturday, December 5, 2015

How to Peel Pearl Onions

Pearl onions are the darling of holiday buffets. Creamed onions are as traditional at Thanksgiving as are cranberries, and as traditional at Christmas as is eggnog. Braised, glazed, creamed, roasted, grilled, added to soups and stews, any way you enjoy them, they are delicious, but many people forego dealing with them because the peeling seems so daunting. If you're a pearl onion rookie, here is the best and easiest way to peel them. Start to finish it only consumes about fifteen minutes of your time, and is well worth it for the fresh taste.

This mixed assortment from Melissa's Produce is by far my favorite. Not only is the variety of sizes and colors visually appealing, but the combination of tastes is unsurpassed.

Now, let's get started. First of all, bring a large pot of water to a boil. While you're waiting, cut the stem end (the end OPPOSITE of the root end) off of each onion. It may seem tedious, but you can develop a rhythm and knock them out in no time.

Discard the tips and put the onions in a small bowl. When the water reaches a full, rolling boil, dump the onions in all at once. Allow the water to return to a boil and boil them for three minutes. While they are boiling, fill the empty onion bowl with ice water and set a strainer over the sink.

When the three minutes of boiling time are up, strain the onions and immediately dump them into the bowl of ice water.

Allow them a couple of minutes to cool and then, one by one, squeeze the root end, and out will pop your peeled onion! Yes, there will be a tiny bit of waste, but nothing beats this method for speed, and aren't we all busy cooks? In some cases the root end may remain attached so either pinch it off or cut it off. That's it!