Start of uni. Everything new. Where to begin? No major mike drop wisdom here. I know you will make it your own because you are one of the most awesome humans I have ever come across. Start at the beginning, one food in front of the next and you will be on your way. On the cooking front? Same thing. Get your foundations solid. So I’m starting here with onions.
Onions are the GOAT. Conquer them and you will be leagues ahead. They are the single ingredient you will use the most to add flavour. Almost everything is improved by an onion, almost every cuisine uses them. There are different ways to cut them and cook them, and they all have different outcomes. None are hard but they are worth knowing about as quite often, getting them right as a base is the essence of whether the something you are cooking is good or completely terrific.
Cutting Them.The skin is tough and if the knife you are working with is not very sharp, it may slip and cut you, so beware. I’ve said it since you were little and I’ll say it again (I can see you rolling your eyes already) – the most dangerous thing in the kitchen is a blunt knife.
To minimise stingy eyes, cut the bottom tufts off but don’t cut the top, this is where the fumes are mostly concentrated. Instead, use that the top as a sort of handle and cut up towards it. Link below for how to do it. HOWEVER – he cuts the top off rather than the bottom. Try both and see what you think – I’d love to know.
There are 4 ways to cut onions for everyday use:
1. Finely diced (like in the video) – for when you want them to disappear into something rather than be noticeable, like a tomato sauce for a pasta or curry base
2. Chopped – chunkier texture, for when you want to notice them as an ingredient in the finished dish, such as stews, chunky soups, traybakes
3. Finely sliced – this is half-moons, across the grain, when you want them to remain recognisably an onion. These can become a sauce/topping in themselves. About the thickness of a £1 coin (remember them?).
4. Halved or quartered – trim less so they can hold their shape. This is when you want them to give flavour but not be part of the final dish, such as in stocks or eg when you are cooking pulses from dried.
Cooking Them. Then there are 3 main stages to the cooking which all have different uses and outcomes. Most recipes LIE about how long each stage] needs because everyone wants cooking to be quick. To be good, really good, it takes time and there is no way around this. However, you can batch cook and freeze in portions which is what I always mean to do. Pulling out a cooked, sweet, soft onion from the freezer is like winning the lottery.
1. Soft and Pale (usually ‘sweat’). This is where they go translucent and soft but don’t colour. Put them in a pan with some oil or butter and a pinch of salt (always salt) and start the heat on medium. Once there is a little sizzle, turn down. Stir from time to time but not constantly. About 8-10 minutes.
2. Golden and savoury (usually just ‘fry’). This is the most used and the basis for most dishes. You can have the heat on medium. They will sizzle more but keep heat on medium so they don’t ‘catch’ (ie burn). Use your nose and ears as well as your eyes. A constant sizzle is good but if it starts to sound a bit hectic, the water in the onion is burning off quickly and that is when it will catch. About 15 minutes. It will halve in volune, so one good size onion per tin of tomato sauce, but a second, cooked properly, will become an ingredient in itself.
3. Deeply golden and sweet (‘Caramelised’). This is the most delicious version but also the most dangerous as it’s a big time investment and easy to burn. Usually you do this with sliced rather than chopped onions which turn to mush. Start as above, with extra fat, but once they are sweated, turn right down and leave to cook. And cook. Read your book, keeping half and eye on them. Stir occasionally. The point to these is that they basically become dinner: toss them with pasta, parmesan and a little pasta water. Pile them over lentils. Hide them under cheese on toast. Add to an omelette. Cover with stock and you are well on your way to onion soup. On thing to not is that the volume will seriously reduce, eg a medium onion will become a tablespoon of golden string. 2 onions per person if they are to become a sauce. 40-50 minutes.
My general rules:
-Start them a notch higher heat to get them going and once they begin to sizzle turn them down appropriately (details below).
-Start with more than you think you’ll need. If you are cooking them down, they will lose at least half their volume.
-Salt at the start, it helps to draw out the water.
-Add garlic only when onions are basically ready, it cooks faster and burns quickly.
Troubleshooting
Browning but still crunchy: pan is too hot
Sitting in water: pan too small and crowded
Catching on the bottom: a bit sticky is fine, burnt is not. Add a little water and scrape up the tasty goo then reduce the heat and keep going
Yikes, there are burnt bits: if not too many, pick them out and keep going
I’ve added my garlic and it is burning but the onions aren’t cooked: garlic burns very quickly so only add it when the onions are basically done.
They’re taking bloody ages. They do. Read a book.
How do I know they’re done? Taste them. Taste everything, all the time. Taste, taste, taste. Just don’t double dip if you are cooking for others. Or at least, don’t let them see you.
You are a really good instinctive cook with a great palate. Get it wrong, get it wrong all the time, you will learn the most from getting it wrong. Same in all areas of life. Be totally unashamed. Live without fear. Ask for help. Love you to the moon and back xoxox MUM