Harper's cook book encyclopædia

Onion. — This well-known vegetable may be regarded either as a condiment or as an article of real nourishment. By boiling, it is deprived of much of its pungent, volatile oil, and becomes agreeable, mild, and nutritious. It is not so wholesome either fried or roasted. There is no vegetable about which there is so much diversity of opinion as there is about the onion, some persons liking a little of it in every dish, and others objecting to it entirely. Generally speaking, however, a slight flavoring of onion is an improvement to the majority of made dishes, but it should not be too strong. When onions are used for stuffing, the unpleasant properties belonging to them would be considerably lessened if a lemon, freed from the outer rind but covered as thickly as possible with the white skin, were put in the midst of them, and thrown away when the dish is ready for the table. Onions may be rendered much milder if two or three waters are used in boiling them. Spanish onions are generally considered superior in flavor. The largest are the best. When young, the onion is eaten raw, and it is also pickled and made into a sauce by boiling. A celebrated medical authority says : Onions make a nerve tonic not to be despised. No other vegetable will so quickly relieve and tone up a worn-out system, and they should be eaten freely, particularly by brainworkers and those suffering from blood or nervous diseases." He further says: "Nothing will clear and beautify a poor complexion sooner than the eating of onions in some form." Onions, Baked. — Peel three or four medium - sized Spanish onions and boil them in salted water for a quarter Onions and Cheese VEGETABLES Onions, Stuffed of an hour, then throw them into cold water for half an hour. Drain them well, cut them into slices half an inch in thickness, place them in a single layer in a well-buttered tin, and bake them in a quick oven, basting them occasionally with butter until they are tender and lightly browned. Serve on a hot dish. Onions and Cheese. — Peel two large Spanish onions, partly boil them, and leave them on a sieve to drain until nearly cold. Then cut the onions an inch and a half across the top and scoop out the centre. Have ready a stuffing made with I oz. of finely grated Parmesan or other cheese, the yolks of two hard-boiled eggs minced very finely, I oz. of butter, 3 ozs. of bread-crumbs, one saltspoonful of salt, and half that quantity of pepper. Mix all well together with a spoonful or two of milk. Fill up the onions with the force-meat, brush them over with egg and breadcrumbs, and bake them until nicely browned. Serve on a hot dish, with brown gravy poured over them. Time, half an hour to boil the onions ; three-quarters of an hour to bake. Onions a la Creme. — Peel four medium -sized Spanish onions, and boil them in water slightly salted until they are sufficiently cooked. Drain them on a sieve, and put them into a stewpan with 3 ozs. of butter rubbed smoothly with a table-spoonful of flour, and a little salt and white pepper. Shake the pan constantly, and stir in by degrees half a pint of cream or new milk. Serve the onions on toasted bread, with the sauce poured over. Sufficient for four or five persons. One hour to boil the onions, quarter of an hour to stew them.