Three Ways to Make the Most of Onions
Peter Sidwell shares three recipes which celebrate one of our most versatile yet overlooked staples: onions
For this month’s recipes, I wanted to take the white onion and show you just how far it can go when you give it centre stage. First up is my White Onion Soup with Soda Bread. This soup is proof that simplicity is often best. By baking the onions whole in their skins, you draw out their natural sweetness, which blends into a smooth, creamy soup that feels like a big warm hug on a cold night. Paired with my quick and easy soda bread, it’s the kind of dish that you can put together with minimal fuss but maximum flavour – perfect for when the weather outside is doing its best to keep you indoors. Next, I couldn’t resist reimagining a classic favourite with my French Onion Spaghetti. We all know and love French onion soup, with its rich caramelised onions and cheesy topping, but I wanted to take those flavours and give them a pasta twist. And because I can never resist baking, I’ve also included my recipe for French Onion Bagels. These beauties are chewy, golden, and absolutely packed with flavour. Caramelised onions get folded straight into the dough, then each bagel is finished with parmesan, onion flakes, and poppy seeds for that extra punch.
So this month I invite you to look again at that humble white onion. It may not be the flashiest ingredient, but with a little time and love, it can be the heart of some truly mouth-watering dishes. Whether you’re ladling out bowls of warming soup, twirling spaghetti around your fork, or biting into a homemade bagel, I promise you – onions have never tasted this good.
Happy cooking!
Pete
French Onion Spaghetti
This dish takes all the comfort of a French onion soup, the indulgence of a cheese toastie, and the joy of pasta night, then wraps them up into one irresistible bowl. Perfect for a midweek dinner, or when you fancy something comforting without too much fuss – this is a recipe you’ll keep coming back to.
- 180g dried spaghetti
- 1 tsp salt
- 25g butter
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove chopped
- 100g drained french onions
- 1 tsp fresh thyme chopped
- 50g grated parmesan cheese
Cut the onions in half and then slice as thinly as possible. This is important as it will help make for a nice caramelised cook. Add the onions to a large pan with a splash of oil and salt.
Cook on a medium heat for 15–20 minutes. This sounds like a long time, but at this point, you will build the flavour and colour. Cook the dried pasta in a large pan of water with the salt for nine minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat a large shallow pan and add the oil, butter, and chopped garlic. Cook on medium heat for two to three minutes, then add the chopped fresh thyme and caramelised onions and stir together.
Remove a ladle full of the pasta cooking water and add to the onions. Turn the heat up and stir together. When the spaghetti is cooked, use a pair of tongs to lift out the pasta and transfer it into the pan with the onions.
Add half of the parmesan cheese and stir together. Serve up the pasta in bowls and finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil for that nice silky finish as well as the remaining parmesan cheese.
French Onion Bagel
If you love the deep, sweet flavour of caramelised onions, these bagels are about to become your new favourite bake. Packed with slow-cooked onions, topped with parmesan, and finished with onion flakes and poppy seeds, they’re a twist on the classic that’s just as good toasted with butter as it is loaded with your favourite filling.
- 7g sachet of dried yeast
- 500g strong white flour
- 1 tsp dried onion flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 150g cooked onions
- 1 tsp soda
- 1 egg white to glaze
- 70g Parmesan cheese
- 2 tbsp onion powder
- 2 tbsp poppy seeds
Cut the onions in half and then slice as thinly as possible. This is important as it will help make for a nice caramelised cook. Add the onions to a large pan with a splash of oil and salt.
Cook on a medium heat for 15–20 minutes. This sounds like a long time, but at this point, you will build the flavour and colour, then leave to cool for 20 minutes before adding to your dough.
Mix the yeast with 275ml water. Put the flour, sugar, cooked onions and one teaspoon of salt in a large bowl and mix together. Pour over the yeasty liquid and mix into a rough dough. Tip out onto the work surface and knead together until smooth and elastic – this should take around 10 minutes.
Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a piece of oiled cling film. Divide the dough into 10 portions and form into balls – I like to weigh them to make sure that they’re all the same size. Line up on two parchment-lined baking trays and cover lightly with cling film.
Leave for around 30 minutes or until risen and puffy, then remove the cling film. Use a floured finger to make a hole in the centre of each bagel, swirling it around to stretch the dough a little, but being careful not to knock out too much air.
Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to the boil. Add the bicarbonate of soda to alkalise the water (see tip, below). Place two of the bagels in the water at a time and boil for one minute (two minutes if you want a chewier bagel), turning over halfway through.
Using a slotted spoon, lift out the bagels, drain well and place back on the baking tray. Brush the bagels with the egg white and sprinkle with your topping, I like to use grated parmesan cheese, dried onion flakes and poppy seeds.
Bake for 20–25 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool before eating. They will keep for three to four days, or freeze for two months.
White Onion Soup with Soda Bread
This soup is really simple and relies only on a couple of ingredients, but when you cook them and understand how to get the best out of a simple ingredient, great things can happen. Try serving the soup with my quick and easy soda bread, they’re perfect served together.
- 3 large white onions
- 1 garlic bulb
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- 1 pint vegetable stock
- 50ml double cream (optional if you like it creamy)
- For the bread
- 500g self-raising flour
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tbsp nigella seeds
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp plain yogurt
- 1 tsp honey
- 300ml water approx
Place the onions in the skins onto a large roasting tray. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook in a preheated oven for one hour at 160C or until soft.
Meanwhile, to make the bread, place the flour, soda, nigella seeds and salt into a mixing bowl. Blend together with your hand, then make a well in the centre of the flour mix. Pour in the yoghurt, honey and three-quarters of the water.
Using one hand in a claw shape roll it around the bowl until it forms a soft ball of dough add the remaining water if needed. Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and shape it into a loaf, do not knead this bread or it will become tough and dense.
Place the dough into a non-stick loaf tin and score the top with a bread knife. Bake in a preheated oven 170C for 20–25 minutes or until fully baked. Remove the onions from the oven and leave to cool for 30 minutes, then using a pair of sharp scissors cut the root off.
Squeeze the onions into a blender and add the hot vegetable stock. Blend until smooth, then add the cream and season with salt and pepper to your taste. Place the squeezed-out onion skins into the bin but keep all the roasting juices from the tray for garnish, I call it the marmite – this is where the big flavour is.
