SPRING ONIONS
RECIPES AND FOOD STYLING JEN BEDLOE PHOTOGRAPHS STUART OVENDEN STYLING
HANNAH WILKINSON
STAR OF THE SEASON
A scattering of sliced spring onion adds pep and colour to salads and stir-fries, but cooking them is where it gets interesting for me: I love their smoky hit when roasted or charred. Here I’ve taken crispy fried onions a step further and added a cornmeal crunch, serving them on spring onion-spiked cornbread. I’ve also grilled them for beef yakitori. You could also lay whole ones in a tray for roasting underneath meat or poultry, use them chopped in risotto instead of ordinary onions or chop and sprinkle over a cheese toastie.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
Spring onions, also called salad onions, are young onions picked before the bulbs have had time to grow into large round onions. Most of the ones you find in the shops are the thickness of a pencil but some are as big as a small leek. Raw or lightly cooked, they bring texture and a mild, slightly sweeter onion flavour to many dishes. As a rule of thumb, the thinner the spring onion, the milder the flavour. When buying, choose onions with bright green leaves that aren’t wilted or papery, and make sure the white (occasionally purple), sweet-flavoured bulbs feel firm and have no blemishes.