Miso Butter Roasted Onions

 

Today's brilliant onion recipe has been adapted from the Ottolenghi cookbook entitled, Flavor.  I am a HUGE fan of Ottolenghi.  He is a much beloved Chef in the U.K. who is well known for his ability to stretch the norms and come up with incredibly delicious foods using simple ingredients and cooking methods.

He cooks mainly vegetarian and is known for his Middle Eastern Flavors, but also embraces the flavors of other cultures such as Mexican and Asian.

 

I first became acquainted with his food when I was cooking at the Manor down in Kent in the U.K.  My employer's daughter lived in London and she would often come down for the weekend. Sometimes she would bring food with her.  Occasionally it would come from Ottolenghi.  

His food was brilliant. Very innovative and filled with fresh flavors. It would usually be an assortment of grain salads, and  similar types of dishes. I remember one time she brought the most beautiful meringues.  They were eye-poppingly gorgeous.  All of his food is visually beautiful and incredibly pleasing to the palate.

 

He has mastered the art of taking really simple and fresh ingredients and turning them into something far from ordinary.  Delicious. Innovative.  Beautiful.

So it is with this recipe I am sharing today for Miso Butter Roasted Onions.  These are melt in the mouth delicious.  Such a simple thing to make, using a very simple oven braising technique.

 

One thing which Ottolenghi does fabulously is the layering of flavors. He is a master at this and so it is with this recipe. Each mouthful brings with it the sweetness of the onions, layered with a richness from the butter and then that Unami from the miso.

These melt in the mouth. Like a buttery, savory, soft, sweet almost candy-like deliciousness.  The flavors of the miso gravy are sublime.  This is a dish that I could happily enjoy all on it's own as a part of a main. These onions would also be perfectly comfortable sitting snuggly next to a roast chicken.

I took the liberty of cutting the recipe in half, but you can very easily double it to make more. What a wonderful way to begin the month of March. Prepare to fall in love.

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE MISO BUTTER ROASTED ONIONS

Very simple ingredients.  The most unusual ingredient is the Miso paste. These days it is not that hard to find. I got mine in the local grocery store, and I live in Podunk, Middle of Nowhere.

• 8 small or medium cooking onions (5 1/2 ounces/150g each)
• 3 1/2 TBS (50g) butter, melted
• 2 ounces (about 1/4 cup) (50g) miso paste
• 2 1/4 cups (500ml) boiling water

 

You don't need special onions for this, although you can also do this with large shallots or a combination of onions and shallots.  Just use the brown skinned onions that come in a net bag at the shops.

My onions were no larger than a baby's fist. Maybe 2-inches across. You don't want to use onions that are much larger than that!

  

Miso paste is a Japanese ingredient, also known simply as Miso. It comes in white and dark and is made from fermented soy beans. It has that flavor which is known as Unami.  It is a staple ingredient in Japanese kitchens and a vital ingredient in the making of Miso Soup.

I found mine in the Asian foods section of the grocery store. It is a fairly common ingredient these days. There is no substitute for it, although you can use either the light or the dark in this recipe.

There is also no substitution for the butter. I used salted.

HOW TO MAKE MISO BUTTER ROASTED ONIONS

Simple ingredients put together in the most delicious way. Time and temperature are your friends here.  Prepare to be amazed.

Preheat the oven to 450*F/232*C/ gas mark 7. Have ready a baking dish large enough to hold your onions halved, plus the braising liquid.

Halve your onions lengthwise. Pull off and discard the skins. Trim a small sliver from the bottoms, leaving enough to keep the onions intact during cooking. Trim a bit from the tops.

Place the onions, cut sides down, in your baking dish, making sure there is a bit of space between each.

 

Whisk together the butter, miso paste and water. Pour this into the baking dish. It should cover the bottom completely and come about 3/4 of the way up the sides of your onions. Cover tightly with foil.

Place the baking dish of onions onto a lined baking tray and place into the oven. Roast for half an hour.

Uncover. Carefully turn the onions over, keeping them intact, so that the cut side is now uppermost. Baste the onions well.

Roast for a further 45 to 50 minutes, basting the onions every 10 minutes with the liquid in the dish. When done the onions will be meltingly soft, beginning to caramelize and the liquid in the dish should have reduced by about half or so to a gravy consistency.

Transfer the onions to a heated serving plater. Spoon the miso gravy over and around them. Serve hot. Any leftovers can be placed in a covered dish and refrigerated for up to 4 days.

These are fabulously tasty.  I also thought they really were very simple to make.  When they were done, I went in for a taste and found that before I knew it I had scoffed down 3 onion halves, without even noticing.

They are THAT good that I just kept going in for one - more - taste. Prepare to fall in love. I would expect nothing less from Ottolenghi.

 

If you are as big a fan of the allium as I am you might also be interested in the following spectularly delicious recipes!

MELTING ONIONS - These delectable onions would be a perfect side dish with any one of those meats.  And when I say delectable, I mean delectable. These onions simply melt in the mouth.  Nothing could be easier to make.  With just a tiny bit of prep, these can be in the oven and roasting in no time at all.

ROASTED ONIONS WITH PARMESAN CREAM -  Onions, roasted in a hot oven until caramelized, then topped with a lush and rich Parmesan Cream, returned to the oven and then roasted some more until until the cream is golden brown and bubbling and all of the lovely onion juices have melded with it to create a very delicious sauce. These are wonderful. 

   

Yield: 2-3

Author: Marie Rayner

Miso Butter Roasted Onions

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 1 H & 20 MTotal time: 1 H & 35 M

Isn't it wonderful when a few simple ingredients combine to create something spectularly delicious?? This recipe is amazing. Simple. Melt in the mouth, buttery, roasted onions, filled with oodles of flavor.

Ingredients

• 8 small or medium cooking onions (5 1/2 ounces/150g each)
• 3 1/2 TBS (50g) butter, melted
• 2 ounces (about 1/4 cup) (50g) miso paste
• 2 1/4 cups (500ml) boiling water

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 450*F/232*C/ gas mark 7. Have ready a baking dish large enough to hold your onions halved, plus the braising liquid.
2. Halve your onions lengthwise. Pull off and discard the skins. Trim a small sliver from the bottoms, leaving enough to keep the onions intact during cooking. Trim a bit from the tops.
3. Place the onions, cut sides down, in your baking dish, making sure there is a bit of space between each.
4. Whisk together the butter, miso paste and water. Pour this into the baking dish. It should cover the bottom completely and come about 3/4 of the way up the sides of your onions. Cover tightly with foil.
5. Place the baking dish of onions onto a lined baking tray and place into the oven. Roast for half an hour.
6. Uncover. Carefully turn the onions over, keeping them intact, so that the cut side is now uppermost. Baste the onions well.
7. Roast for a further 45 to 50 minutes, basting the onions every 10 minutes with the liquid in the dish. When done the onions will be meltingly soft, beginning to caramelize and the liquid in the dish should have reduced by about half or so to a gravy consistency.
8. Transfer the onions to a heated serving plater. Spoon the miso gravy over and around them. Serve hot. Any leftovers can be placed in a covered dish and refrigerated for up to 4 days.

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