The Onion Family, Part 2

So, more on those most vital boosters of your immune system, the onion family aka alliums: onions, leeks, chives, garlic, shallots and scallions. Also the most vital boosters of great taste. Don't let a day go by without some. Here are a few more ways the world eats up the onion family (French onion soup is always good but it's so obvious you can find recipes everywhere of every sort):

British Pork Fillets with Leek Sauce

With two pans and two hands, you can whip this pretty dish up in about 20 minutes. It looks and tastes complicated but it's actually a cinch. While you're doing it, you can roast baby potatoes or asparagus spears with olive oil and salt at 450º 10-12 minutes and make a complete meal. Just add green salad.
serves 4 

2 thick pork loin chops
1 egg
1 tsp dried sage
3/4 c breadcrumbs, panko or if you have Celiacs at the table cornmeal or chickpea flour
2 medium leeks (1" diameter)
5 tbsp olive oil (it will be divided)
4 tbsp unsalted butter (it will also be divided)
4 gherkins and 1/2 tsp brine, chopped
scant 1/2 c heavy cream (under 1/2 c by 2 tbsp)
1 tbsp green peppercorns (if you don't have them use a lot of freshly ground black pepper)
Salt to your taste
2 tbsp fresh chives, chopped

Lay the pork chops flat on a cutting board and with a very sharp knife, halve them lengthwise into two thinner portions. Cover these four fillets with wax paper or the butcher paper they came in and with a rolling pin or heavy weight flatten and widen them into thin fillets. 

Halve the leeks lengthwise, wash them carefully and cut each half in half again. Then slice into small pieces removing the thick green as you go. In a medium frying pan, over low heat, melt 2 tbsp butter into 2 tbsp olive oil. Stir in the leeks and cook on low heat so they don't brown 5 minutes, stirring to keep them coated.  When they are soft, stir in the chopped gherkins. Stir in the gherkin brine, cream and peppercorns or pepper. Season with a pinch of salt. Stir everything and leave the pan on the lowest possible heat until pork is ready.

In a shallow bowl, beat the egg with the dried sage. Put the breadcrumbs in a very shallow bowl or on a plate and add salt to your taste.  Dip each  pork fillet into the egg being careful to coat both sides. Then roll each fillet in the breadcrumbs until each is covered. 
In a large frying pan, over low heat, melt 2 tbsp butter into 3 tbsp olive oil and when it starts to sizzle add the pork fillets in one layer. Fry over low heat about 3 minutes until the side in the oil is beautifully brown. with tongs flip the fillets and cook another 2-3 minutes to brown that side equally.

Remove the fillets to a serving platter and top with the leak mixture. 
 Garnish with chopped chives and serve at once. 

 Pissaladiere, the Provencal Onion "Pizza"

In my catering days, this was the must have for summer afternoon weddings. It later became a picnic favorite: sharp, salty and filling. It feeds a crowd. Traditionally, this is made with anchovies but I am not mentioning them here. If you like anchovies you put them on in a crisscross pattern just before baking. The recipe here is for a family size round but if you double everything you will have a sheet cake size for a crowd.

dough
(this is going to be for a sheet pan size pie so use what you need and use the rest for another pizza or double the onion recipe for a sheet pan size pie.)

For the dough

1-1/4 cups all-purpose unbleached flour

1 tsp table salt

1 tsp granulated sugar

1 packet active dry yeast (rapid-rise is ok)

1/3 c warm water

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large egg, must be at room temperature

Whisk flour, salt, and sugar together in a large bowl.

In a smaller bowl, stir the yeast into the warm water and, when it’s dissolved, whisk in the olive oil and egg (make sure the egg is not cold). Using your hand, a sturdy rubber spatula, or a wooden spoon, make a little well in the center of the flour, then pour in the yeast mixture and mix until you have a rough dough, 3-5 minutes.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for until smooth, maybe 5 minutes. Rinse out the bowl, rub it lightly with oil, and turn the dough around in it until it glistens with oil. Cover the bowl, set it aside in a warm place, and let the dough rise until it has doubled in size, about an hour. 

filling
1 1/2 lb onions (feel free to mix red, white and yellow)
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp dried basil 
1 lg garlic clove, minced
freshly ground black pepper to your taste
5-6 plum tomatoes from a can so you don't have to bother poaching and skinning fresh ones)
pinch of salt
10 pitted black olives
8 fresh basil leaves

Peel the onions and slice into thin rings. 
Over medium heat, heat olive oil in a large lidded skillet. Add onions and then garlic. Cover the pot and cook 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Lower heat if onions look to be burning. They need to be soft and translucent with slightly golden color.

While onions cook, squeeze the tomatoes to eject seeds and excess juices. Chop coarsely. Add them with the dried basil, black pepper and a pinch of salt to the onions. Stir to blend. Cover the pot and cook another 12 minutes. 

While that happens, preheat oven to  425º. Lightly butter a 10" removable bottom tart pan or baking sheet or pizza stone.
Either halve the olives or cut them into disks--your design choice. 

On waxed paper, roll out the pizza dough into a 12" circle and fit it in the tart pan, stretching it as you go to keep it as thin as possible without breaking it. Bring it up the sides of the tart pan and use a rolling pin over the top to remove excess evenly. 

Fill the dough with an even layer of the onion mixture. Top with the olives evenly dispersed in a decorative pattern of your choice, remembering the pie will be cut in wedges. Add anchovies now if you like them. Put in the center of the oven, drop heat to 400º immediately and bake 20 minutes. Now reduce heat to 350º and bake another 15 minutes or until the crust is very crisp.  Garnish with the fresh basil leaves whole or chopped.

Chinese style chives and shrimp dumplings

 I am fond of Chinese chive dumplings as they are made in San Francisco's best dim sum restaurants but they seem a reach in a home kitchen especially when the sumptuously plump Chinese chives at the core of the recipe aren't easily available to most of us. So I've reworked these into regular dumplings you can make with store bought wonton or gyoza skins and lots of garden chives--something else altogether but tasty nevertheless and not that difficult to achieve for something very nutritious and light in hot weather. 
probably 30-36 dumplings here

1 package wonton or gyoza wrappers
8 oz bamboo shoots (come in a can), drained
3 oz fresh pea shoots
1 bunch scallions
2 c chopped fresh chives
1/2 lb cooked or smoked shrimp (not giant prawns, try for smallish shrimp)
pinch red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp Chinese roasted sesame oil
2 tsp Tamari or good quality soy sauce
1 tbsp corn or other vegetable oil

 You can create your own dipping sauce. Options include tamari/soy, chili oil, rice wine vinegar...

 Fill a large steamer with water and get it boiling over high heat.

Chop the bamboo shoots, pea shoots and scattions into small pieces. In a medium bowl, combine them with the chives. Chop the shrimp into small bite-sized pieces and stir them into the vegetables. Season the mix with a pinch of pepper flakes, sesame oil and soy sauce.

Unwrap the wonton/gyoza skins and separate at least 1 dozen to start. Put a small bowl of water next to them. Put a tablespoon of filling into each one. Dip a finger into the water and lightly wet the entire inner rim of each filled wrapper. Then one by one pick them up and fold in half, stuffing the filling down. Starting on the right seal and pinch the dough as you work left--or you can reverse direction if it's easier. Seal hard and pinch hard to entirely close the dumpling. Keep working until all the filling is used up.  

Oil the bottom of the top of the steamer where you will place the dumplings in a single layer. You may have to steam in batches, that's okay.  Once the water is boiling away creating steam put the top part with the dumplings in place, snap on the lid and steam 8-10 minutes until the wrappers are soft and whiter.  Remove and flip the pot over to release them onto a plate. Continue re oiling and single layering until all dumplings have been steamed. Arrange dumplings to be served.

Serve hot with a dipping sauce of your choice. 

BTW: you can also pan fry these on one side after they are steamed for a different effect. Or you can pan fry the leftovers the next day.








Leek and Cauliflower Soup

This is a light, delicately flavored summer soup garnished with fresh chives and seasoned with fresh dill. It's best served with melted cheddar or havarti cheese crostini, second best with garlic croutons. (The pictured soup has a reddish cast because the commercial broth I used had some tomato in it.)
serves 4 in bowls or 6 in cups

3 medium leeks (1" diameter)
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp olive oil
2-21/2 lb cauliflower, leaves and core removed
4 cups (1 qt) vegetable broth 
3 bay leaves
2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped
3 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tbsp fresh chives, chopped for garnish
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste 

Cheese crostini for garnish too

Remove the coarse green layers of the leek. Split the white part in half and rinse carefully. Chop the leeks roughly. In a medium/large lidded pot, on low heat, melt the butter into the olive oil. Add the leeks, stir to coat and cover the pot. Simmer on low heat until leeks are soft, 10-12 minutes. Don't brown them on higher heat. 

While they simmer, cut the cauliflower into thick slices. Add it to the soft leeks, stirring to blend. Pour in vegetable broth, salt and bay leafs. Bring to a boil, immediately lower heat to simmer and cook 20 minutes. Everything should now be soft. Remove bay leafs right away.

Remove from heat. Add parsley and dill and freshly ground black pepper to your taste. Using a blender/immersion blender or food processor, puree the soup to a little bit chunky, not totally smooth. Stir in the nutmeg. Check for salt and adjust if necessary. 

Serve hot sprinkled with chives and a melted cheese crostini floating in each bowl.  

Central Asian Scallion Pancakes (Galmana)
These have more "cake" than the Korean scallion pancakes I posted earlier and are meant to be eaten with soup or stew. This is a very handy winter recipe.
makes 8 pancakes

1 1/2 c all purpose unbleached flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 c water
1/2 c sour cream
8 scallions, minced
2/3 c corn or other vegetable oil for frying

In a large bowl, whisk together flour and salt. Slowly pour in the water and knead to form a dough tat does not stick to your hands. Add flour if necessary to firm up the dough. Cover the bowl with a towel and set aside 15 minutes.

On a floured board or large piece of waxed paper on your counter, with a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a rectangle to1/4" thick. Cut out squares of 5".  

Brush each square thickly with sour ceam. Sprinkle each with scallions. Now fold the top half over the bottom to form a rectangle and pat this lightly to close. Don't worry about tightly sealing.  

In a large flat frying pan, over medium heat, get the oil very hot. Carefully lower in the pancakes in a single layer. (You may have to do this in batches.) Fry on each side until stiff and golden brown. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately. You can keep them warm in a 325º oven if it will take time to finish all batches.

Cheese Onion Apple Tart from the Auvergne

this is the photo that came with the recipe

I am translating this from a French recipe I found at my French "sister's" house. It features over a pound of the local cheese, tomme d'Auvergne, which research indicates can be replaced by tomme de savoie, cantal or in a pinch gruyere. Some of the flavor sensation brought by the Auvergne cheese will be missing but who will know? It's not a quiche and not the usual flat onion tart. It's more like grilled cheese with onions. 
  serves 4

get a pre-made pie crust or puff pastry for one
1 1/4 lbs cheese (see above for what kind)
8 onions, peeled and chopped
1 Granny Smith apple, chopped
4 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp unsalted butter
Sea Salt and freshly ground pepper to your taste
pinch of ground nutmeg (I'm adding this)

 Heat oven to 475º.
Grease a 9" high sided pie plate and fit the pie crust into it and up the sides. Cover the interior with the onions and apple mixed together. Season with salt and pepper to your taste. Chop up the cheese. Distribute it over the onion/apple mix and top with the olive oil and butter. Sprinkle nutmeg around the top.  Bake at 375º 12-15 minutes  until the tart is firm and the crust golden.