Melting Onions

 I am in the process of testing side dishes for the up and coming holidays and this week I really wanted to try this recipe I found in a book by Diana Henry.  The name of the book is Pure Simple Cooking.
It is filled to overflowing with an abundance of simple recipes which require very few ingredients and not a lot of effort.  When you are talking holiday meals, any recipe which meets those requirements is a plus for me!
  I adore onions.  They are quite simply one of my favorite vegetables and they go really well with roasts of any kind!  Turkey, beef, chicken, lamb, pork, even ham.  
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.
 Are you the person who always wants to pig out on that onion which has roasted in the middle of your roast chicken?   (and who isn't!) If so, then this recipe is built just for you!
I don't know why I am always amazed when such simple ingredients and techniques come out crazy delicious. I shouldn't be.  We all know its the simple things in life which bring us the most pleasure after all!

Caramelized onions are one of my favorite things to eat, but they are rather time consuming and you do have to keep a close watch on them.  Worth the effort, but still . . . 
When you are cooking a roast dinner you have plenty of other things to do, without having to babysit a skillet of onions!  With a tiny bit of prep, these quite simply cook themselves!  Easy peasy!  
 As you all know by now, I am a no fuss no muss kind of a girl.  You can call it lazy if you want to, but the truth is I like recipes that can get me in and out of the kitchen with little or no effort.  
Yes, they have to taste delicious, but recipes that cook themselves?  Sign me up!
 WHAT DO YOU NEED TO MAKE MELTING ONIONS
Very simple ingredients are needed to make these onions and you only need four ingredients.

• medium sized brown onions, skins on
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• salted butter

That's it, pure and simple!
 HOW DO YOU MAKE MELTING ONIONS
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.
First of all you will need six medium sized brown onions.  By brown onion I mean onions with brown skins.  You need to do a bit of prep on them, but not a lot.  
Wash them really well and dry them and then trim all those hairy bits from the root end.  You can just cut them off as close to the root as possible. You want essentially to make sure that the root end stays intact.
 Although it is not essential you will also want to trim a bit from the stem end of the onion. I like to cut a thin slice from the top, discarding it. 
You then need to make a deep cross cut down the height of the onion towards the root end, only going down 3/4 of the way.
Make sure you don't cut them all the way through the bottom. You want them to stay together. 
  You then rub them all over with some extra virgin olive oil. This is when you want an oil with some flavor, so extra virgin olive oil is perfect.  You will also be seasoning them with some salt and pepper.
I like to use fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
 Once you have rubbed and seasoned them you need to pop them into a roasting dish that is small enough to hold them all snugly in a single layer.  
This helps to keep them intact during the long roasting time.  I used a 6 inch cake tin because I was only roasting 3 onions today for testing purposes.
 
They are then covered tightly with some more foil and popped into a moderately hot oven. (375*F/190*C)   Initially they need to roast for a fairly long period of time. 70 minutes.
But essentially, they are cooking themselves. You can just walk away and get on with whatever else you need to be doing.
 At the end of the that time you remove from the oven and add some butter.  Just plain salted butter.  
I cut it into slivers and inserted it into the cuts of the onions so that the flavor gets right in there.
 Back into the oven they go for another 25 minutes, until that butter gets all nut brown and golden and the onions get to the point where they really do melt in the mouth. 
You will need to baste them a couple of times with the melted butter. Not a problem.  The end result is something that brings pure and simple taste satisfaction.

You can also turn these delectable little morsels . . .  cheesy melted onions  . . . by adding some grated strong cheddar cheese and popping them back into the oven just long enough for the cheese to melt.
Cheese and onion are perfect partners and this makes for a fabulous finish for what is essentially one of the simplest and most delicious sides dishes you could ever put together. I highly recommend!
PS - Do caution your guests to peel off the skins prior to eating. The onions slip out of them very easily. This tiny bit of hassle is well worth it. Trust me on this.
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Melting Onions

Yield: 6 as a side dish (can easily be halved)Author: Marie RaynerPrep time: 8 MinCook time: 1 H & 32 MTotal time: 1 H & 40 MThese will be the star of the show! These delicious onions melt in your mouth.

Ingredients

• 6 medium onions, skins left on
• 1/4 cup (60ml) olive oil
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup (60g) salted butter

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375*F/190*C/gas mark 5.  Have ready a baking dish that you can fit all the onions in upright, snugly.
2. Carefully trim the bizarre bits from the root end of the onion, leaving the root and skins intact.  Trim a sliver from the other end as well. Make a cross cut into each onion 3/4 of the way down the height of the onion, taking care not to cut all the way to the bottom.
3. Rub the onions all over with the oil, season with salt and pepper and then fit snugly into a small ovenproof dish.  Cover tightly with aluminum foil.
4. Roast for 70 minutes.  Uncover.  Divide the butter amongst the onions, sliding it down into the centers.  Bake for a further 25 minutes, basting them with the melted butter a few times.  Serve at once.

Notes:

You can turn these into melting onions with cheese by adding some grated or cut strong cheddar (about 6 ounces) and stuffing it into the centers of each onion when done. Return to the oven just until the cheese has melted. Delicious!

You can also add herbs to these. Fresh thyme leaves are especially nice.

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