Onions – cheap and cheerful and plentiful – and so good for you!
Look at their incredible health benefits:
- The phytochemicals in onions along with their vitamin C help improve immunity.
- Onions contain chromium, which assists in regulating blood sugar.
- For centuries, onions have been used to reduce inflammation and heal infections.
- Do you enjoy sliced onions with your food? If yes, rejoice! Raw onion lowers the production of bad cholesterol (LDL), thus keeping your heart healthy
- Got stung by a honeybee? Apply onion juice on the area for immediate relief from the pain and burning sensation.
- Onions scavenge free radicals, thereby reducing your risk of developing gastric ulcers.
- Those bright green tops of green onions are rich in Vitamin A, so do use them often.
Shopping this week:
- Aldi 45p/ kilo
- Asda 75p /kilo
- Morrisons 68p/kilo
- Sainsburys 80p / kilo
- Tesco 75p / kilo
- Waitrose 80p/kilo
Classic French Onion Soup
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 large onions, thinly sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 dessertspoon balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 – 3/4 pint of beef stock (you can make this up with some red wine if you have any)
Slowly melt the butter in a saucepan and add the onions. Cook over a very low heat, stirring occasionally for about 30 minutes until soft and lightly browned.
Stir in the sugar and vinegar and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the stock and bring slowly to the boil and simmer, uncovered for about 15 minutes.
Ladle into a bowl – and the nicest way to finish off is to toast some bread, top with grated cheese and float on the top!
French Onion Tart (keeping the theme going!)
- Pastry made with 50 grams of butter and 100g plain flour
- 1/2 kilo onions
- 25 grams butter and 1 dessertspoon olive oil
- 2 egg yolks and 100 ml of double cream
- 50 grated cheese
This is the easiest pastry recipe known to man (or woman) – rub the butter into the flour and enough cold water to bring the mixture together and simply press it straight into a small tart tin, using your hands, without even rolling. You now want to bake it blind – which means laying some greaseproof paper on top and filling it with clay baking beans or dried pulses – even bread crusts – as a weight. Bake it in a oven for about 15 mins at 200oC.
Meanwhile, heat the butter and oil in a pan and add the sliced onions and cook very gently till soft – about 1/2 hour (just like the soup). Remove from the heat and season well (a little nutmeg tastes nice, too!)
Beat together the yolks and cream and finely grate the cheese. Add to the onions and spread evenly into your pastry case. Bake at 190oC for about half an hour until the filling is lightly puffed golden. Serve with a crisp salad.
Delicious recipes – and doing you good as well!
Ailsa cooks for One 