Onions: lead actor, supporting role and health bomb

My favorite meals usually start with a sauteed onion! But onions don’t need to only play a supporting role. Who isn’t enticed by French Onion Soup - or as they call it in France, Onion Soup (yes, the gooey cheese does play a role admittedly). 

This time of year we are lucky to have fresh onions, so juicy and bursting with flavor.. The farmers are also curing the majority of the crop for long term storage. Store them in the refrigerator when you buy them fresh and uncured. Curing is the process of drying out the outer layers, neck and roots so the onions can be left at room temperature for several months. 

Onions are in the Allium Botanical Family along with leeks, garlic and chives. Local authors Kate Winslow and Guy Ambrosino wrote the book on onions, literally; Onions Etcetera: The Essential Allium Cookbook. 

Onions are the whole package too, they’re delicious and they have fabulous health benefits as well. Here is a great article from the Cleveland Clinic about the 6 surprising health benefits of onions.

Everytime I cut an onion in one of my cooking classes I am asked how to not cry while cutting an onion. My answer is - have a super sharp knife! If your knife is sharp you will cleanly and crisply cut through the fluid filled cells of the onion. If your knife is dull, your knife presses on the cells causing them to burst, spray into your eyes, mix with the chemicals in your eyes and create tears. Howe Sharp is at the Doylestown Farmers Market every other week throughout the season, so bring those knives and get them sharpened. I sharpen mine at home at least once a week - or every time I’m going to cut an onion!

This week I’m sharing a fabulous and innovative collection of onion recipes from Food & Wine. I’m looking forward to cooking my way through this list, from French Onion - Stuffed Onions to Onion Jam and Goat Cheese Rugelach!

30 Ways to Turn Onions Into the Star of Your Table 

Enjoy!