Favorite Ingredients Friday for June 22

For my favorite ingredients post this week I am going to focus on a somewhat seasonally available ingredient -- Vidalia onions. You could, of course, use any sweet onions in these recipes, but Vidalias are wonderful. Here are my two favorite recipes for these onions:

BAKED VIDALIA ONION FLOWERS

6 Vidalia onions (you can use fewer onions if you prefer)
1/3 c. melted butter -- maybe less
1/4 c. chopped pecans, optional
Salt & pepper

Line a baking dish, large enough to hold all the onions, with foil.

Next, prepare the onions. With a sharp knife, trim the root end of each onion carefully. Stand each onion on its root end on a cutting board. Cut parallel, vertical slices at 1/4” intervals into, but not all the way through the onion, almost to the bottom. Rotate each onion 90º and cut again in the same way to form a cross-hatch pattern on the top of the onion.

Place onions in the baking dish and drizzle with the melted butter. Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Bake at 350º for 1 hour, then sprinkle with the pecans if you are using them. Bake 30 more minutes.

These onions are absolutely delicious. They are not as high-fat as the “onion blossoms” you can buy at fairs. I believe I got the recipe -- many years ago -- from the radio cooking show “Yankee Kitchen”. These onions have been a big favorite in our family.

MICROWAVE VIDALIA ONIONS

1 large onion per person (may use any sweet or yellow onions)
1/2 tsp. butter or olive oil per onion
1 tsp. beef bouillon granules (or 1 cube) per onion

Peel onions and cut a 1” hole in the root end. Place the butter or oil and the bouillon in the hole. Put the onions in a microwave-safe dish and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Microwave for 15 minutes on High or until onions are soft.

This is a great quick and easy way to cook and enjoy Vidalia onions.