PDA

View Full Version : using onions as a sauce base



jomo
Sep 21st, 2008, 11:18 PM
Equipment: handblender
Ingredients: olive oil, onions, herbs and spices

I find sauces often make a meal, so I designed this creamy sauce base to be light and healthy, but full of flavor.

I make it in two ways, the white version: with onions cooked until they are soft and translucent, and the brown version where the onions are caramelized.

The white version is nice as a sauce on root vegetables or greens, and is nicely flavored with parsely or dill.

the brown version is nice on sauteed tofu, or the like, is heavier in flavor and is nicely flavored with curry type mixtures and masalas, tomatoes, wine and mushrooms

The White version:

Finely chop about 3-4 cups of white onions, fry in a pan with a couple of TB of olive oil, you can add garlic, or spices that taste best when fried in oil (such as cumin). fry the onions over low heat until they become soft and translucent. Simmer covered for 10-15 minutes until they get very soft

transfer them into a bowl, and add 1 cup of water. using a handblender, blend the onions and water into a paste, keep blending until smooth and thick, add water until desired consitency, add salt to taste and chopped herbs, serve over steamed or sauteed vegetables.

its tasty because onions are full of flavor, but light to the palate; it is saucy without being heavy

The Brown version:

Chop about 6 cups of onions finely, and fry at medium heat in a pan with 3-6 TB of olive oil. Fry attentively with a wooden spoon until they begin to turn brown on the egdes. turn down the heat to simmer, add oil if necessary, and allow to cook covered for about 1 hour, stir occasionally.
The onions should be deep brown mushy. this is essentially the soup base for french onion soup.

Two way of preparing the sauce: you can fry the onions until suggy and brown and liquify them with water into a brown sauce base by transfering them into a bowl, adding add 1 cup of water and using a handblender to blend the onions and water into a paste. add salt to taste

OR:

continue frying at low heat until they seem dark brown, but not black, and crispy and dehydrated. add masala or other curry powers simmer for a bit, add a cup of diced tomatoes;
or add western spices, mushrooms, diced tomatoes and 1/2 cup of wine.

simmer until tomatoes melt away with onions leaving a thick brown spicy gravy.

variations: add soycream and a dash of cognac and green peppercorns

serves well as curry base for beans or vegetables, over rice, or as sauce over tofu or seitan cutlets.

This is a heartier sauce, not so light, I would serve a meal with this sauce offset with a light crispy salad to balance it

Sarah_
Sep 22nd, 2008, 10:06 AM
Sounds awesome. I love onions and garlic in anything.