Onion rings

Version française disponible ici !

Last Thursday was a special day at home because it was my man’s birthday! No time to think about a 100% new menu in this very busy week so I have picked some of my best recipes (couldn't afford to make a mistake on this occasion :p). So we had the following on the menu: a good piece of pepper beef (beurk) with a pepper sauce (beurk again) and some potatoes slightly browned in a frying pan (phew, something I can eat :p). For dessert, it was my unbeatable chocolate fondant (customized for the occasion, to see here on facebook for the curious ones ;) and for the cocktail hour, a little novelty: some onion rings!

We already tried them once before and it was delicious, yummy! Those of you know me won’t believe it but yes, I can eat non overcooked-megaboiled onions! The sweetness of the red onions and the crunchy layer of the breadcrumbs dressing really go well together :) We just won’t think about the calories this time, right?

So to make it, I have followed the recipe (in English) from the Food Wishes blog: an easy recipe and so quick to make!

Here are the details:

• 2 red onions
• ½ cup flour
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• 2 tbs instant mashed potatoes
• A bit of hot pepper powder (Chili powder in my case)
• 1 cup Tonic
• Some Panko (Japanese breadcrumb that you can easily find in grocery shopping)

For the frying

• Some oil 

For the finishing touch

• Some salt

We start by preparing the batter in which we will dunk the onions. To do that, mix all the dry ingredients: flour, cornstarch, instant mashed potatoes and hot pepper powder. Mix everything.

Add the cup of Tonic (be careful it will bubble ^^) and mix again. The foam will disappear and the batter will become thicker.

Prepare a container with Panko.

Then peel the onions and remove the top and bottom. With a good knife (our new ceramic knife is so cool!) cut some slices of 1 cm wide at least (not too thick, so that the onions can be cooked nonetheless). Then separate the slices out.

COOKING

Start by heating oil in a big container.

First dunk the slices of onions into the batter (brush them well) and then into the Panko (here again, turn them well over in it).

Then cook them a few seconds in the hot oil. Turn them over to brown the other side and put aside on paper towels.

Remember to slightly salt them before serving!

TIPS AND TRICKS

So, here are some advices for this crunchy cocktail time!

1. My batter was a bit to liquid at the beginning and didn’t really stick on the onions. So I added some flour and instant mashed potatoes powder to make it thicker and it was perfect after that :)
2. Make sure that you remove the transparent skin when you separate the slices of onions. Otherwise it will bother you when you cover it with breadcrumbs.
3. It’s not easy to know if the oil is too hot or too little hot, so I made a first try with just an onion ring to find the good temperature; we were ready to start then!

4. The most important advice I could give you in my opinion is: don’t throw the cooking oil in the sink! Don’t keep it for a next frying either, or make sure you have removed all the burned pieces of breadcrumbs otherwise because your body will be unhappy!
   To throw it, pour it (after letting it cool down) into a bottle (for example the one of the oil if it’s empty) and throw the full bottle with the domestic waste. It’s still not the best way but it’s obviously the best we can do!
5. If you don’t know what kind of cup to use for the measurements, pour 240ml of water in your cup of choice and if it is filled up, it’s a good one!

SERVING SUGGESTIONS

I have accompanied the onion rings with two different sauces made of tomato paste: one mixed with hot pepper, the other one with lemon juice (to reduce a bit the fat of the oil, yes, believe me ^^).

Add to that two cups of ti-punch and we’re done :)

Rose.