In season: Celebrate the onion, workhorse of the kitchen

Hal B. Klein / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The mighty onion is often overlooked in favor of flashier vegetables at farmers markets. You’ll always find mountains of them in grocery stores, no matter what the season. They make us cry when we cut them and our breath hot (though not as stinky as their allium cousin, garlic) when we eat them.

So why seek seasonality in an onion?

Locally grown onions hit two peaks: in the late spring when they’re hauled fresh and sweet from the soil, and now, as farmers pull them from root cellars cured with papery skins that’ll keep the vegetable in good condition for the next few months.

Onions are layered, typically serving as a workhorse. But in rare cases, like when it’s made into a punchy onion jam, it’s a muse. We return to them time and again because they are the spark of so many recipes — the depth in the stew, the zing in a hoagie.

Often when an onion is billed as the star (think French onion soup) it’s generally the sturdy foundation. We’re really ordering that soup for the oodles of melted cheese, right? I bet some of you even leave a bed of onions at the bottom of the bowl.

Raw onions bite sharp and unapologetic. They soften their tone with time and patience, turning sweet and mellow after caramelizing over a low flame.

Choose white onions to bolster soups and stews, and to pair with peppers, ground cherries and tomatillos (all still in season) in a salsa (or, if you’re like my late, great Grandpa Benji, for your chopped liver sandwiches). Yellow onions are perfect for caramelizing, and serve as an all-purpose go-to. Red onions are my favorite for a quick pickle, and shallots come through with elegance, especially when sauteed in a little bit of butter.

Quick Pickled Onions

PG tested

Pickled onions are a multifaceted tool to have in your condiment collection. They are super easy to make and highly customizable. Have it your way with whatever type of vinegar you want to use, and zest it up a bit with spices and herbs such as clove or bay leaf. You can scale this up as much as you’d like to as long as you stick with the basic ratio.

½ cup vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 onion, sliced into strips from pole to pole

Mix vinegar, sugar and salt in a small bowl.

Pour over onions in a mason jar or other suitable storage container (make sure the onions are completely covered).

Wait at least an hour prior to serving. Will keep for several weeks or even months in the refrigerator.

Makes about 1 cup.

— Hal B. Klein