Green Bean, Caramelized Onion & Apple Salad (V)

Cooking skills focus: Knife skills, sauteeing, blanching, balancing flavors

Ingredients:

2 T cooking oil

2 yellow onions, sliced thinly

1/2 head garlic, cloves peeled & sliced thickly

salt & pepper TT

½ C water

1 1/2 # green beans, trimmed and cut into 2” pieces

3 carrots, trimmed & cut into half moons ¼” thick

1 head romesco cauliflower (a.k.a. broccoflower), diced ½” on a side

2 Fuji apples, cut into large dice (1/2” on a side)

3 T olive oil

1 lemon, juiced

salt & pepper TT

Instructions:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. The water should taste salty like the ocean.

2. Heat a large saute pan over high heat. Add the 2 T cooking oil. Add the onions and saute on high heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic. Drop the heat to low and season with salt and pepper. Cook over low, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes. Add the ½ C water and cook another 10 minutes. The onions and garlic should be dark and gooey. Set them aside.

3. When the water’s boiling, drop the green beans in and get ready to pull them out again after 2 minutes. Spread them on a sheet pan to dry and cool.

4. Combine all remaining ingredients.

Caramelized Spring Onion Fried Eggs

I was pretty sure that you could caramelize spring onions. You totally can.



Ingredients:
1 t unsalted butter
2 small spring onions, sliced (or one large one; I had two small red ones)
1 T water
1 T unsalted butter
2 eggs
salt and pepper TT
about 1 oz cheese, sliced (I had Comte)

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Heat a large saute pan over high heat and add the teaspoon of butter. Quickly add the the onion and allow to blacken slightly, for about 2 minutes.
3. Reduce heat to medium, add the water and the remaining butter. Add a little salt to help break the onion down and encourage caramelization.*
4. Add the eggs and season.
5. Cook for a couple of minutes per side, but be careful!

Yeah, when you already have stuff in the pan and you add eggs to fry, the stuff makes it a lot more likely that the yolk will rupture if, like me, you're a little clumsy. Whatever; melted cheese covers all mistakes.

6. Transfer to a plate, cover with cheese slices, and put in the oven for about 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

*Nerd alert: Salt ruptures the cell walls in all food, allowing the water inside to escape. Once the water pretty much leaves the item, it can cook at a higher temperature, because water keeps the temperature at its evaporation point, 212 degrees F, and caramelization usually happens at over 300 degrees F.