Pearl Onions

The next in my series of blogs about onions, are pearl onions. These tasty mini onions are just fabulous in a variety of ways…provided you don’t have to peel them! When I had my biz, I once had to sit and peel 10 pounds of pearl onions. Can you imagine? I stank like onions for a week! Ya ya, of course you can blanch then peel them, but where’s the fun in that?

I’ve seen pearl onions in white, red and of course yellow varieties, but unless you’ve a hankering for smelling like onions for a week, do yourself a favor and buy the frozen ones!! Oooh yes, the lovely folks at BirdsEye have a retail pack of frozen pearl onions. Just thaw them under running water and then squeeze the onion out of the thin papery shell that they leave behind just to drive you crazy. People who are less the perfectionist than I may well leave that papery film on but I find that it is unpleasant to eat and well worth the extra minute to pop the onion out of there.

Pearl onions can be pickled, baked with a parmesan herb crumb on top (yum!), sauteed, added to stews, soups and pot pies, but one of my favorite methods for cooking pearl onions is in creamed onions. This dish has its roots in merry old England, and is one of those traditional dishes that you might turn your nose up at if you’re Texan and what? Not cook them on the BBQ? Seriously though, creamed onions are delish and such a treat that I’d save them for a holiday table. Here follows a recipe for these gems…dig in and enjoy!

Creamed Onions

2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1 cup warmed milk
salt, pepper and a dash of nutmeg
2 10 oz bags of frozen pearl onions, thawed and papery film removed

1. Melt the butter over medium heat in a saucepan. Add the flour and stir frequently until the paste bubbles a wee bit, but don’t let it get too brown.
2. Slowly add the warmed milk, whisking as you go to prevent lumps. Continue to simmer over low heat until the mixture thickens.
3. Add the pearl onions and while stirring let the mixture continue to cook for 3-4 minutes or until your onions are warmed all the way through.
4. Season with salt, pepper and a wee bit of nutmeg. Keep the serving dish away from my brother and dig in!