Have you ever grown onions? You prepare the soil, make neat rows, plant onion starts or bulbs that all look basically the same, fertilize and water them, and then harvest and cure them. Yet when harvest time comes, some are huge, some are average-sized, and others are small—even tiny!
Here is an easy way to preserve those tiny onions for use as a delicious vegetable side dish or as an addition to stews and braises. All you need is a freezer and freezer bags or FoodSaver bags.
Process
- Prepare a cookie sheet or sheet pan. Line it with parchment paper, if desired.
- Peel the onions. Cut a tiny bit from the top and bottom of each onion, taking care to keep the onion intact.
- Blanch the tiny onions in boiling water for two minutes if they are pearl-sized or three minutes if they are slightly larger.
- Remove the blanched onions from the boiling water, and immediately place them in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process.
- Drain the onions, and arrange them in a single layer on the prepared sheet pan.
- Place the sheet pan in the freezer until the onions are individually frozen.
- Transfer the frozen onions to freezer bags. About a dozen onions per bag is a useful quantity.
- Remove as much air as possible from each freezer bag, or seal the onions in FoodSaver bags.
- Label and date the bags, and store them in the freezer.
That’s it!
Serving Suggestions
For a delicious way to prepare your frozen small onions, try Braised Onions à la Julia Child.
Once braised, serve the onions as a vegetable side dish or add them to braised dishes, stews, or coq au vin. If adding them to another dish, stir them in near the end so they remain whole and sweet—they are already cooked.
Bon appétit!