Scallion Pancakes | Ginger-Scallion Fish | Greek Salad | Green Beans w/ Red Onion | Pico de Gallo | Spaghetti w/ Onions & Anchovies | French Onion Soup

Scallions

Storage

Store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Scallion Recipes

Korean Scallion Pancakes

• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cup cold water
• 4 scallions, cut in 2-inch lengths 
• Canola or peanut oil for frying

Mix flour, salt and water into a moderately thin batter. Add scallions and mix gently. Heat oil in a skillet and add half the batter to make a 1/4-inch thick pancake. Fry on both sides for 3-4 minutes. Slip the pancake onto a cutting board and cut into squares. Repeat with the rest of the batter.  

Serve warm with a traditional dip of 2 Tbsp soy sauce, 1/4 tsp dark sesame oil, 1/2 tsp toasted sesame seeds, 1 tsp thin-sliced scallion and 1/2 tsp dried hot red chili flakes.  

Chinese Fish with Ginger-Scallion Sauce

• 4 Tilapia fillets
• Flour for dusting
• 6 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1-3 small hot chilies, sliced
• 1 inch ginger root
• 2-3 scallions, in 1-inch pieces
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp fish sauce (optional)
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp white or rice vinegar
• 4 Tbsp chopped cilantro 

This dish is prepared using a method commonly used in Chinese cooking.  Heat the oil in a fairly large skillet. Cut the fish fillets into 1 inch chunks. Put some flour on a small plate or saucer and roll the fish pieces in it before adding them to the hot oil. Fry briefly (only a minute or two per side) as the fish cooks fast and you don’t want it to crumble. Drain the fried fish on paper towels and set aside. Drain all but 2 Tbsp of the oil out of the pan. Meanwhile, cut the ginger root into matchsticks by slicing it very thinly and then chopping the slices into  narrow slivers. Add garlic, ginger, chilies, and scallions to the oil.  Sauté for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent sticking or burning.  Combine the sauce ingredients and add to the pan, stir once, then return the fish to the pan, stirring gently to coat with the sauce, about 1 minute. Turn off heat and garnish with the cilantro.  Serve immediately with rice. 

Note: this dish can be made with any kind of meat, tofu or eggplant.

Sweet Onions

Storage

Remove onion tops from bulbs and discard or use as scallions. Store onions in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks. Cured sweet onions will keep 6-8 weeks at room temperature before sprouting.

Sweet Onion Recipes

Horiatiki (Greek Villager’s Salad)

• Tomatoes, chopped
• Red onion, sliced
• Kalamata olives
• Cucumber, sliced
• Feta cheese, crumbled
• Lemon juice
• Red wine vinegar
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Oregano, finely chopped
• Salt & pepper

Just combine the ingredients and allow to meld for a half hour or so before serving.

This is the traditional Greek salad, horiatiki salata, without lettuce. We recently enjoyed this alongside some grilled lamb loin chops from a local farm. It’s also great with hummos or falafel in a pita. Perhaps some grilled eggplant, too? The important thing is to use ripe, flavorful tomatoes and mild sweet onion.

String Beans with Sweet Onion, Oil & Vinegar

This is a very simple, delicious way to prepare any type of string bean, and it makes a great summer salad or cold vegetable side dish. When Tim was working at a farm in Tuscany, this dish was on the table every single day, and everyone would add the oil and vinegar to their own liking. 

• 1 lb or so beans
• 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 sweet onion, thinly sliced
• salt & pepper

Simply wash and trim the beans (cut into bite sized pieces if you wish) and boil in heavily salted water for 5-10 minutes. They should be fully cooked but not disintegrating. Drain the beans and immediately plunge into cold water to arrest the cooking. Drain and toss with the onion, salt & pepper, oil and vinegar. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Pico de Gallo

• 2 cups chopped tomatoes (or 2 slicing tomatoes)
• 1 sweet onion
• 1 clove garlic
• Hot chilies, to taste
• 1/2 bunch cilantro
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 Tbsp sugar, optional
• 1 Tbsp vinegar, optional

Chop everything to a fine dice and toss with the liquids. Allow to sit for 1/2 hour to meld the flavors. Eat with tortilla chips or quesadillas, enchiladas, burritos, etc.

Cipollini Onions

Storage

Dry onions should be stored at room temperature in a dry location like the kitchen counter or cupboard for up to 1 month.

Root Cellar

Like garlic and winter squash, onions should be kept in a cool, dry location such as an attic, garage, or unheated room.

Cipollini Onion Recipes

Bigoli in Salsa (Spaghetti with Onions and Anchovies)

This is an unusual recipe for pasta sauce but PLEASE, don't be dissuaded. It is a traditional recipe from northeastern Italy where I did my radicchio research. The combination of onion and anchovy is simply sublime, and this is the simplest dish I know that expresses this particular flavor. (The pissaladiere flatbread of southern France is essentially a pizza with this sauce on top. Onion tarts flavored with anchovy, olives and tomatoes are also a fixture of Provencal cooking.) Cipollini onions are the best ones to use for this recipe because they have such rich flavor when cooked.

• 1 lb Thick Spaghetti or Whole Wheat Spaghetti
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 medium cooking onions or 1 pound of cipollini onions, roughly chopped
• 2 Tbsp dry white wine
• 1 tin flat fillets of anchovies, drained and finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp Italian parsley, cut into fine ribbons

Heat the oil in a skillet and saute the onions over medium-low heat for about 10-20 minutes, until very soft and glistening but not browing. Add the white wine and stir until evaporated. (The acidity in the wine offsets the sweetness of the onions and the deep primordial saltiness of the anchovies). Add the anchovies and continue to cook over low heat until they disappear into the onions, about 5 minutes more.  Add the parsley and turn off the heat.  Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook the pasta al dente.  Drain and mix the cooked pasta with the onions before serving. Though not traditionally served with grated cheese, we think a little parmigiano never hurts. 

French Onion Soup

• 2lbs yellow or cipollini onions
• 1/2 stick butter, or combination of oil and butter
• 1 shot Port wine
• 2 quarts homemade beef stock, or use canned
• salt & pepper
• To serve:
• 4 slices slightly stale french bread
• grated Emmenthaler or Gruyere cheese, or a combination

This is an absolute classic and is actually pretty easy once you get all the onions peeled and thinly sliced. Heat the butter in a large, heavy skillet or dutch oven and add the onions. When they are hot and actively cooking, reduce the heat to low. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for a long time, even over an hour. What you are looking for are the various phases the onions go through as they cook: sweaty, soft, mushy, golden, deep golden and virtually disintegrating. Be sure to stop there, before they start sticking and turning black. Add the Port and stir until evaporated. (If you happen to have saved some pan drippings from a roast, throw them in now. There are few better things to use them for.) Add the beef stock and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper. The soup is done now but if you wait until the following day to serve it, it's even more delicous.