a gallon bag of chopped onion

[chezcherie]

taught knife skills to a gaggle of teenaged boys this week. they produced some tears, and a boatload of mirepoix. used some for tortilla soup, mexican rice, etc., but i have a cambro full of (fairly uniformly) chopped onion. somehow, caramelizing chopped onion seems weird to me---that's for onion slices, non? but i suppose i could try that....

anybody got a great use for these? i've done knife skills classes many times before, but i can't honestly recall what we've done with the resulting product...

suggestions gratefully entertained.

[Milagai]

taught knife skills to a gaggle of teenaged boys this week. they produced some tears, and a boatload of mirepoix. used some for tortilla soup, mexican rice, etc., but i have a cambro full of (fairly uniformly) chopped onion. somehow, caramelizing chopped onion seems weird to me---that's for onion slices, non? but i suppose i could try that....

anybody got a great use for these? i've done knife skills classes many times before, but i can't honestly recall what we've done with the resulting product...

suggestions gratefully entertained.

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1. freeze for future use?

2. take 2 cups of the chopped onion, add to ~ 1 Tbsp minced

ginger and 1 tbsp minced garlic: "bhoono" until all soft and golden

and thoroughly done, add spices (e.g. cumin-coriander powder; garam masala;

turmeric; red chilli) and saute, then add 2-3 cans drained kidney beans

or other beans or chopped greens and paneer;

or whatever chopped veges you like; or browned chicken pieces, or ....

Voila! Indian entree!

3. make stock or soup base, and freeze?

Milagai

[Carolyn Tillie]

Nah... go ahead and caramelize 'em! You'll just have a finer onion confit than normal, but it will make a great condiment that you could put into jars and give away at the holidays!

[joey madison]

Carmelize 'em. Make a pissaladiere or something

[moosnsqrl]

I freeze diced onions and bell peppers (especially when they're prolific) so I'm never without. I hadn't thought about carmelizing then freezing, though. That would certainly add another layer of flavor to soups and stews all winter.

[ludja]

Carmelizing sounds like a good idea, and one nice use right away would be to use them to make a pizza or tart. (walnuts and blue cheese are a nice addition).

If your stock larder is low, use this opportunity and some of the onions to make some chicken, beef and vegetable stock to have frozen for fall and winter soups and stews.

For the short term, I'd probably make a nice pork roast cooked on generous layer of potato and onions...

Though one would usually slice them, I'd also make a nice French onion soup to have for lunch for a few days...

[gus_tatory]

...suggestions gratefully entertained...

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make onion bhajis~!

[Hector]

Make the classic of classics: Soupe D'oignon!

[chezcherie]

all of these are great suggestions---i think of many of the suggestions as calling for sliced, rather than chopped onions--especially bhajis and onion soup. i guess i need to get out of my preconcieved onion rut. the indian suggestions with ginger, garlic and kidney beans got my mouth watering...

[JayBassin]

Nah... go ahead and caramelize 'em! You'll just have a finer onion confit than normal, but it will make a great condiment that you could put into jars and give away at the holidays!

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Absolutely--make an onion confit/marmelade, then if you still have too much (never!), freeze after it's browned.

[Rehovot]

Or...Chicken Korma!

[Pam R]

We caramelize 50 lb. sacks of chopped (not sliced) onions ALL the time at work. They cook for hours. Then they are either used right away or divided into freezer bags and pulled out to make: potato filling for blintzes, knishes or perogies; chopped liver (these should be fried in shmaltz though); kasha; soup; appetizers (like galettes). Almost all things are better with deeply caramelized chopped onions. It's not just for slices!

[jsolomon]

Caramelize and eat on savory crepes and spicy sausages

[TPO]

You also could make onion chutney or onion relish.

[piazzola]

make onion juice great for any meals

[racheld]

There's a great onion diagram somewhere in the cosmos and you can caramelize only certain shapes? Well, I'LL certainly have a lot to answer to.

Especially those ridiculous "blossoms" I made with that cutter gift set last Christmas.

[Jason Perlow]

Soupe L'Oignon Gratinee. Naturally. I don't beleive it would suffer from chopped versus sliced.

[andiesenji]

I agree, carmelize them.

Then make a cheddar cheese, potato and onion pie.

Mix up a custard, as you would for a quiche, season it with salt, pepper and 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg. (You won't really taste it but it adds a certain something to the finished dish.)

Boil or steam 6 to 8 small potatoes, a little larger than golf ball size, slice (leave the skins on)

Line the baking dish or pie pan with filo doug, use about 6 layers, brushing melted butter on each sheet then laying on the next one till you have all the sheets layered together.

Spread a little of the egg mixture in the bottom,

spoon in a layer of the carmelized onion then a layer of sliced potatoes

pour in half of the remaining egg mix.

Add a layer of thinly sliced or grated sharp cheddar cheese.

Add another layer of onions

another layer of potatoes

pour on the rest of the egg mix

and top with more cheddar.

Bake in a medium oven for about 50 minutes.

Jiggle the pan to see if it is set in the center. If still liquid, leave it in the oven for another 8-10 minutes until the custard is just set. Turn the oven off and leave it for 15 minutes then remove from oven and either serve warm or chill and serve.

[Jason Perlow]

Caramelized onion is also a key ingredient in Kasha Varnishkes. It also goes great in Potato Kugel. A gallon bag of onions is basically going to reduce to 16oz or less of caramelized onion, which will be enough for a recipe of each.

I would advise if you are going do do the above, do it immediately after cooking a chicken stock and reserve the chicken fat that coagulates (schmaltz) for cooking the onions. Theres nothing quite like the taste of caramelized onions cooked in chicken (or duck) fat to add to a traditional Ashkenaze dish.

[scubadoo97]

I will also advise carmelize them. Wonderful as a topping for Mujaddra(rice and lentils)

[chezcherie]

I agree, carmelize them.

Then make a cheddar cheese, potato and onion pie. 

Mix up a custard, as you would for a quiche, season it with salt, pepper and 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg. (You won't really taste it but it adds a certain something to the finished dish.)

Boil or steam 6 to 8 small potatoes, a little larger than golf ball size, slice (leave the skins on)

Line the baking dish or pie pan with filo doug, use about 6 layers, brushing melted butter on each sheet then laying on the next one till you have all the sheets layered together.

Spread a little of the egg mixture in the bottom,

spoon in a layer of the carmelized onion then a layer of sliced potatoes

pour in half of the remaining egg mix.

Add a layer of thinly sliced or grated sharp cheddar cheese.

Add another layer of onions

another layer of potatoes

pour on the rest of the egg mix

and top with more cheddar.

Bake in a medium oven for about 50 minutes.

Jiggle the pan to see if it is set in the center.  If still liquid, leave it in the oven for another 8-10 minutes until the custard is just set.  Turn the oven off and leave it for 15 minutes then remove from oven and either serve warm or chill and serve.

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oh good lord, that sounds so good right now....i see that those boys will need additional knife practice next week, so i can try out all these ideas. thanks for getting me out of my sliced vs. chopped rut.