Earlier this week Gizmodo editor Tom Scocca resurfaced his heroic effort to expose the truth that caramelizing onions takes a hell of a lot longer than most recipes (and Google $GOOGL) would have you believe. While many recipes cite an absurd five or 10 minutes for getting the soft, golden, sweet onions required to enrich a multitude of dishes, the truth is that it often takes closer to 45—45!—minutes of stirring over a a skillet.
Food52’s forthcoming book, Mighty Salads, has a better idea: “roasted onion half-moons—neither stiffly raw nor caramelized to oblivion,” and an easy method for getting there—no skillet-monitoring required.
Inspired by this kale salad recipe, I recently cut a yellow onion into 1/4-inch “half moons,” tossed them with 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil and some salt and pepper on a Silpat-lined baking sheet, popped them into 350°F oven, and walked away. Soon their sweet smell perfumed the house, and around 50 minutes later, I pulled them from the oven. (Mighty Salads calls for onions to spend 60-75 minutes in the oven, but after 45 minutes mine were golden and the edges were starting to brown.) They were slick and sweet. A few of the drier slices had become charred and needed to be discarded, but that probably could have been avoided with some midway stirring, and seemed a small price to pay for the luxury of leaving them alone.
When the onions had cooled, I tossed some into a pile of arugula dressed with lemon juice and olive oil and topped it with a handful of sliced dates and some shaved parmesan. It was delicious, and I still had leftovers to stash away for future salads and sandwiches.
It’s definitely a better way.
