Onions and Garlic: Who Could Live Without Them?

Onions and garlic run through my blood. My heritage is Jewish and Italian, and these twin influences taught me early on that onions and garlic are as important as salt, pepper and a close-knit family.

Nonna taught me how to prepare old-fashioned Italian food, rich with these ingredients. I remember staying close to her in the kitchen while she cooked greens laced with olive oil and stuffed huge ravioli with slowly stewed onions and meat. Bubbe cooked strictly kosher, feeding me oniony-potato pancakes and garlicky homemade pickles.

Both households greeted me at the front door with the welcome aromas of onions or garlic drifting from the kitchen. To this day, the fragrances from a pan of sauteing onions or the perfume of garlic roasting in the oven draws me back to the past.

At an early age, I was taught that eating lots of garlic would bring me good luck and that onions were essential to the maintenance of healthy blood. It’s no surprise to me that the members of my family rarely get sick and that when they do, the illness is always short-lived. Call it heredity, but I believe it’s the onions and garlic.

There are two kinds of onions: those harvested in the spring or summer and those harvested in the fall. The differences are crucial. Spring/summer onions are mild, full of water, fragile and best eaten raw or lightly cooked. Storage onions, the ones harvested in fall, are dense and meaty and more pungent than summer onions. They taste best cooked.

But don’t limit the onion, or any other member of the onion family, to specifically defined culinary roles. When a dish calls for green onions, try substituting onion cousins such as chives, baby leeks, green garlic or young shallot shoots. In recipes where onions are sauteed, use shallots or leeks for a softer, gentler flavor. Substitute red onions for yellow onions and leeks for mild white onions. And remember, onions are more than just bulbs. Use them throughout their lives, from sprouts to greens to mature bulbs.

GRILLED SALMON ON CHIVE BLOSSOM MASHED POTATOES

I would call the early ‘90s the mashed potato era. An unstable economic environment sent many of us back to the basics, searching for sensible foods to fill our bodies and souls. Food professionals have a tendency to take everythinga step or two further, which is how these luscious mashed potatoes came to be. If you like, pan-sear rather than grill the salmon fillets.

1/2 cup creme fraiche

3 tablespoons seeded and grated cucumber

2 tablespoons grated red onion

2 tablespoons dry vermouth

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

3 pounds medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut lengthwise into quarters

1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

6 tablespoons sour cream

Milk, optional

2 to 3 tablespoons garlic or chive flower petals, plus 1 tablespoon for optional garnish

White pepper

Clarified butter, melted

4 (7- to 8-ounce) salmon fillets

4 teaspoons caviar or 8 teaspoons chopped black olives, optional

Combine creme fraiche, cucumber, onion and vermouth in small bowl. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Set aside to allow flavors to blend.

Prepare mesquite fire in grill.

Meanwhile, bring large saucepan 3/4 full of water to boil. Add potatoes and boil until tender when pierced, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and mash in bowl with potato masher, or pass through ricer or food mill into bowl. Add butter and stir until melted. Add sour cream and, using electric mixer or large spoon, whip until smooth and fluffy. If necessary, thin with milk to desired consistency. Stir in 2 to 3 tablespoons garlic blossom petals. Season to taste with salt and white pepper. Keep warm.

Place clarified butter in shallow bowl and dip salmon fillets, 1 at time, into butter. Place on rack and grill, turning once, to desired doneness. Medium-rare is best, if fish is very fresh, which would be 3 to 5 minutes on each side, depending on thickness of fillets.

Mound equal amount of mashed potatoes on each of 4 individual serving plates. Top each mound with salmon fillet and few generous tablespoons creme fraiche mixture. Garnish with optional chive blossoms and caviar.

Makes 4 servings.

ONION RINGS WITH KOREAN HOT SAUCE

ONIONS

2 large onions, cut into thick slices or wedges

Cold water

Peanut oil for deep-frying

Salt

Combine onions and cold water to cover in large bowl. Let stand.

Pour oil into heavy-bottomed saucepan or electric fryer to depth of 3 to 4 inches. Heat until begins to smoke.

Hot Sauce

HOT SAUCE

1/3 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons mirin (sweet rice wine)

1 teaspoon chopped fresh ginger

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Combine soy sauce, mirin, ginger, garlic, sugar, red pepper flakes and chives. Stir well. Set aside.

BATTER

1 cup unbleached white flour

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 egg

1 cup ice water

Stir together flour and cornstarch in small bowl. Using fork, whisk together egg and ice water in medium bowl until blended. Add flour mixture to egg mixture and whisk just until combined. Batter should be slightly lumpy.

When oil is hot, drain onion rings. Dip, few at time, into batter, shaking off excess, and slip into oil. If batter is not sticking to onions before you add to oil, add bit more flour to batter. Fry until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Using large slotted spoon, remove to paper towels to drain. Keep onion rings warm until all are cooked.

Arrange onion rings on platter. Season to taste with salt. Serve with hot sauce.

Makes 4 servings.

SHALLOT GARLIC FLAN WITH ROASTED GARLIC CLOVES

The first time I ate at the Fog City Diner in San Francisco, I asked the waiter what he thought was the best dish coming out of the kitchen. Without hesitation, he leaned over and whispered, “Have you had the garlic flan?” I ordered it, and from the first bite I knew I had found garlic nirvana. In this version, the shallots give the flan a denser texture.

ROASTED GARLIC

18 or more cloves garlic, peeled but left whole

Light olive oil

2 sprigs fresh parsley or rosemary

Coat garlic cloves lightly with olive oil and place on sheet of foil along with herb sprigs. Wrap securely and roast at 350 degrees until cloves are soft when pierced with knife, about 30 minutes. Set aside to use as garnish. Reduce oven temperature to 275 degrees.

FLAN

4 large shallots, coarsely chopped

2 garlic heads, cloves separated and coarsely chopped

2 cups whipping cream

6 sprigs fresh thyme

Dash freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

4 egg yolks

2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Boiling water

Combine shallots, garlic, cream, thyme, nutmeg, salt and pepper in medium saucepan and set over medium heat. Bring to gentle simmer. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until mixture is reduced by about 1/3, or until thick enough to coat back of wooden spoon.

Remove from heat and discard thyme sprigs. Strain mixture through fine-mesh sieve into bowl, pressing against sieve with back of spoon to extract as much of liquid as possible.

Whisk egg yolks in separate bowl until well blended. Then whisk yolks into strained mixture until thoroughly incorporated.

Lightly butter 6 (1/2-cup) oven-proof custard cups. Sprinkle equal amount of chives into each. Pour in egg mixture, dividing evenly. Place filled cups in baking pan with 2-inch sides. Cover cups with foil. Pour boiling water into pan to reach within 1/2 inch of rim of cups. Bake at 275 degrees until flans are firm, about 1 hour. To test, insert tip of knife into center of flan. It should come out clean. Serve flans warm. Garnish with some roasted garlic cloves.

Makes 6 servings.