GRILLED ONIONS

Grilled onions                                                     

                                                                                    Prep time: 2 hour marinade

                                                                                    Cook time: 10 to 15 minutes

                                                                                    Serves: 4

How, you might ask, is grilled onions deserving of a recipe? Well, it is because I have had so many guests complement me, no, go insane over these onions that I figured more people should know about them. The grilling cooks all the eye-watering pungency out of the onions, and each bite is a warm, sweet, slightly crunchy trip to southern California. In the winter, one can use a broiler, but grilling is definitely the best way to go.

The inspiration for this recipe came from a wonderful Italian restaurant in Portland, Oregon, called Pazzo Ristorante, back in the 1980s when balsamic vinegar was starting become popular in a large way throughout North America. The restaurant still thrives in downtown Portland.

MUSIC: This dish is minimalistic. Let me introduce you to musical minimalism if you don’t already know it. Find Steve Reich’s Electric Counterpoint played by Pat Metheney. It is the perfect piece to lose your minimalism virginity. Equally as inspiring is John Adams’s four movement composition Shaker Loops.

           

HERE’S ALL YOU NEED:

1.    One or two large purple onions. Other types such as Spanish, or Walla Walla sweets also work, but the firm texture and tangy flavor of purple onions keeps me going back to them.

2.   Balsamic vinegar (bulk)

3.   Outdoor grill or broiler (or for the privileged, an indoor grill)

HERE’S WHAT TO DO:

·      Peel onions and slice into whole rounds, about ½ inch thick each.

·      Lay flat in a baking pan or cookie sheet and marinate for 2 hours in balsamic vinegar. You don’t have to completely cover in vinegar, but use liberally, and spoon onto the onions periodically during the two hours.

·      Cook on a medium-hot to hot grill until softened, turning once or more. Usually takes about 10 to 15 minutes. 

CADENZA: No salt or pepper is needed usually. Great with chicken or steak and other grilled vegetables, especially red peppers and eggplant. Great cold, in a sandwich the next day, or reheated.