Creamed Baby Onions
I grew up thinking you could serve these wonderful little onions only
at Thanksgiving and Christmas, and then only if you were having the
traditional turkey with all the trimmings. Occasionally we had roast
beef or goose for Christmas, so that limited us to once a year for
creamed onions. Thankfully, once I was out on my own, I learned you can
have these any time you want, serving them with everything from roast
poultry to a succulent London broil.
Makes 6 servings
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 pints (1 1/4 pounds) boiling onions, boiled in water to cover for 1
minute, drained, peeled, simmered in chicken stock to cover until
tender, about 15 minutes, and drained, 1/2 cup stock reserved; or one
16-ounce bag frozen baby onions, thawed, simmered in chicken stock to
cover for 5 minutes, and drained,
1/2 cup stock reserved
3/4 cup half-and-half, heavy cream, or
milk, hot
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon cumin (optional)
Chopped fresh parsley
Melt the butter in a medium-size saucepan
over medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, for about 3
minutes. Do not brown.
Stir in 1/2 cup of the reserved stock. Stir
in the half-and-half (use cream to produce a very unctuous finished
dish).
Simmer the mixture over low heat,
stirring to prevent it from sticking, until it is thick and creamy, 5
minutes or longer.
Stir in salt, pepper, and if using,
cumin. Stir in the onions vegetables and heat through.
Serve this simple creamed baby onions
vegetables cooking recipes very hot, garnished with the parsley.
Variation: Replace the cumin with 1 tablespoon hot curry powder.
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