Angry Onions
Raw onions are harsh and biting, but they can be tamed. Coddle them, warm them slowly and gently, and they will become your sweet things; your loyal rescued feral dog, the embittered old man who cuts you a flower from his garden.
At times the pure sweetness of those languid strands, though hard won, is annoying. It is McMurphy after the lobotomy: well-behaved and person-less. Relieve them of the burden of kindness: give them back their angry soul with crushed red pepper.
Slather them on your burger, smear them across your toast, smother that pallid steamed cauliflower with their fiery venom. Allow them to tell your story.
Angry Onions
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds yellow onions, thinly sliced (about 6 cups)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4-1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium; add the onions and salt and cook, stirring often, 15 minutes. Stir in the pepper– more or less, depending on your state of mind– and cook until the onions are soft and golden, about another 5-7 minutes.
Makes a scant 2 cups
August West says
Marge: I always read your blogs with great interest and have used any number of your recipes. This one looks like a particularly good way of rescuing onions (which I love, caramelized) from slipping into insipidity. One question: I notice that many of your recipes specify using Wellfleet Sea Salt, which I have been able to order on line or just buy when I’m on Cape Cod, but this one doesn’t – does it matter?
Marge Perry says
Hi August– This is a great question, and brings up the confusion that so often surrounds the different types of salt.
Wellfleet Sea Salt is what is called a “finishing salt”– one used to highlight the flavor and texture of salt on the finish of a dish. For example, I might sprinkle it on top of a pecan tart over roasted chicken after it comes out of the oven.
Finishing salts like Wellfleet Sea Salt are generally more coarse than the salts with which you cook– which you want to disperse and dissolve very evenly. So when I season protein before I cook, or when I bake, and I want the salt flavor to be incorporated into the food, I use the kind of sea salt you might get in the grocery store– and it is “fine”, not “coarse”.
In the case of the onions, I want to add a hint of salt across the board, which enhances the flavor very evenly and has no affect on texture, so I use fine sea salt. And one other small fact: general use fine sea salt is an everyday, pantry product that is less costly than a good finishing salt.
Hope this helps!
Ann says
I may never make these onions, but I’ll remember this post–one of the few cooking articles I’ve read that made me laugh out loud. Thanks Marge!
Marge Perry says
Aw, thanks, Ann. Glad you enjoyed it.
Ann says
Which is of course not to say that your column is only good for a laugh. Wonderful recipes and so much good advice.
Marge Perry says
🙂