An exciting cooking moment (at least for me)

After years of peeling the tiny white pearl onions by hand, I came across a helpful tip online- you all probably knew this one but it made me so excited, I had to share-
Boil water in a pot on the stove, enough to cover the amount of onions you are peeling. Cut off one small end of each onion, make an X there. Plunge them into the water for one minute- and presto! The skins come right off.
Now I know you think it is pretty pathetic to get so excited over such a little thing. But I am making coq au vin and it is a 3 day job to begin with.
I think I need a break from the kitchen- time to relax in the garden...

 

I had no idea that this would work. Wonder if it will work with other onions as well.

 

Hi Droopy, According to my online source, it works for all onions. I have only tried the pearl onions and large shallots but both worked perfectly. I have used this method for peeling tomatoes (without the cutting part) and it worked for all sorts of tomatoes- the larger ones needed to stay in a little longer. So I think it should work for all onions- maybe the larger ones might need a little longer.

 

I had no idea. I've heard that and used for the tomatoes, but not onions. Thanks for that! I will be using this tip because of the chutneys i make use alot of onions in them.

 

I received a Super Post for this? Maybe I am not as pathetic as I thought! Maybe I am a cooking genius! Ok- I know what the rest of you are thinking- she has been out in the Kuwait sun too long...probably true but thanks to Sjoerd's advice, my plants are thriving! All of the herbs I needed for this complex dinner came from my gardens.

 

Well, I think it was a super tip, making life a lot easier for us who cry our eyes out whenever we try to peel onions. I'm so glad your plants are growing well for you, you deserve to feel like a genius.

 

Droopy, you are the sweetest. Any luck I have had with my gardens here is due to all of you. I didn't have a clue on how to garden in this climate. I tried on my own for a year and was sobbing (well, through email) on a friend's shoulder and he recommended GardenStew. That email saved my garden's life and probably my sanity as well as my friend's sanity. Writing and gardening have helped me cope with being so far from home.

 

Thanks for the tip...I too have used this method when canning tomatoes but didn't know it would work on onions.

 

travelingbooklover ~ please tell someone who is not a genius or cook, what you were making...coq au vin. Others probably know what it is, but I don't (at least I don't think I do). And what are some of the ingredients. Glad your garden is doing well for you.

 

Hey Kuntrygal! I'm not even close to being a genius or a great cook but I love cooking. Anyway, Coq au vin is a fancy name for chicken marinated in red wine. It takes a long time because you marinate for at least a day and then you cook the next day. It really is worth the work, so tasty and looks pretty too. I think it is traditionally served with buttered noodles or a potato gratin but I like it with plain old white rice. (Soaks up all that yummy sauce.)
Here's the recipe-

Marinating chicken
1 750-ml bottle French Burgundy or California Pinot Noir
1 large onion, sliced
2 celery stalks, sliced
1 large carrot, peeled, sliced
1 large garlic clove, peeled, flattened
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 6-pound roasting chicken, backbone removed, cut into 8 pieces (2 drumsticks, 2 thighs, 2 wings with top quarter of adjoining breast, 2 breasts)

Cooking chicken
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 ounces thick-cut bacon slices, cut crosswise into strips
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 large shallots, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
4 large fresh thyme sprigs
4 large fresh parsley sprigs
2 small bay leaves
2 cups low-salt chicken broth

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
1 pound assorted fresh wild mushrooms (such as crimini and stemmed shiitake)
20 1-inch-diameter pearl onions, or boiling onions, peeled

Chopped fresh parsley

Preparation For marinating chicken:
Combine wine, onion, celery, carrot, garlic, and peppercorns in large pot. Bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer 5 minutes. Cool completely; mix in oil. Place chicken pieces in large glass bowl. Pour wine mixture over chicken; stir to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 day and up to 2 days, turning chicken occasionally.

For cooking chicken:
Using tongs, transfer chicken pieces from marinade to paper towels to drain; pat dry. Strain marinade; reserve vegetables and liquid separately.
Heat oil in heavy large pot (wide enough to hold chicken in single layer) over medium-high heat. Add bacon and sauté until crisp and brown. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to small bowl. Add chicken, skin side down, to drippings in pot. Sauté until brown, about 8 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to large bowl. Add vegetables reserved from marinade to pot. Sauté until brown, about 10 minutes. Mix in flour; stir 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in reserved marinade liquid. Bring to boil, whisking frequently. Cook until sauce thickens, whisking occasionally, about 2 minutes. Mix in shallots, garlic, herb sprigs, and bay leaves, then broth. Return chicken to pot, arranging skin side up in single layer. Bring to simmer; reduce heat to medium-low. Cover pot and simmer chicken 30 minutes. Using tongs, turn chicken over. Cover and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes longer.
Meanwhile, melt 3 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms; sauté until tender, about 8 minutes. Transfer mushrooms to plate. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in same skillet. Add onions and sauté until beginning to brown, about 8 minutes. Transfer onions to plate alongside mushrooms; reserve skillet.
Using tongs, transfer chicken to plate. Strain sauce from pot into reserved skillet, pressing on solids in strainer to extract all sauce; discard solids. Bring sauce to simmer, scraping up browned bits. Return sauce to pot. Add onions to pot and bring to simmer over medium heat. Cover and cook until onions are almost tender, about 8 minutes. Add mushrooms and bacon. Simmer uncovered until onions are very tender and sauce is slightly reduced, about 12 minutes. Tilt pot and spoon off excess fat from top of sauce. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Return chicken to sauce. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep chilled.) Rewarm over low heat.
Arrange chicken on large rimmed platter. Spoon sauce and vegetables over. Sprinkle with parsley.

I also serve this with herbed green beans. I blanch fresh green beans in boiling water. Then I melt a little butter, add some chopped shallots, some lemon zest, some lemon juice and whatever fresh herbs I feel like adding- maybe some tarragon, some parsley, whatever and then toss the beans with the herbed butter.
My gardens wouldn't be doing so well without all of your help!

 

Hi Eileen, I am glad my tip worked for you. I have a friend that has problems with stinging eyes and she freezes her onions a little before she slices them. She swears this prevents your eyes from tearing. I haven't tried that because they don't usually bother me. (I guess too many years of spicy food has made me immune!)
It has been great to finally have a fairly successful garden here. Until GardenStew, my gardens in Kuwait have been spectacular failures. (All those poor little seedlings...) I tell everyone I know about GS, to the point they are probably tired of me talking about it! It's such a great site and not just because of the gardening. You can always find something on it to cheer you up and brighten your day!

 

travelingbooklover, wow! great tip! i do this with tomatoes, but also, never thought of trying it with onions. gonna have to give it a try! thanks again...and you;re so right about GS. one can always find something to 'grin' about while reading the posts!!!

 

It works on garlic too...so if you need whole cloves, just pour boiling water over the cloves and the skin will just peel off.