Just picked bounty
I'm in a bit of a pickle. Actually it's more of an onion - scallions to be exact. I remembered to double plant my onion sets in the kitchen garden this year so I could thin them out and reap a bonus crop of spring scallions, and my plan worked beautifully.
This is definitely The Year of the Scallion
But despite my tossing extra scallions into pretty much everything except dessert for the last few days, I still have about 125 that really need to be harvested now.
There are a zillion recipes that include scallions - which are also called green onions - but these mild and tasty alliums never seem to be the star of the show. I thought I remembered seeing a delicious sounding recipe somewhere for stir-fried scallions (maybe with a teriyaki sauce?), but a quick online search resulted in lots of stir-fried things with scallions added to them, but no recipe for just the scallions themselves.
When I reported my scallion situation to my best foodie pal Beth (aka kitchenMage), she suggested I toss a pile of them with some olive oil and then slow roast them in the oven at about 325 degrees with some thinly sliced garlic. I haven't tried this yet, but I think the idea it has serious possiblities.
I think spring onions are so pretty
When green onions begin to form bulbs they're called spring onions, or sometimes salad onions. I have plenty of those, too.
Too close for comfort - but very tasty
So what would you do if you were faced with an enormous quantity of gorgeous scallions and spring onions? While I'd love to know any of your favorite ways to use them, I'm particularly interested in recipes that call for large quantities, like 10 - or even 40. You're welcome to leave recipe links from your own blog in the comments section. Thanks for the help!
Oh, and because I'm so desperate, I'm posting this plea on Farmgirl Fare as well, so if you're looking for even more fresh scallion ideas, check out the comments section of Wanted: Your Favorite Recipes & Ways to Use Green Onions.
Up next on Farmgirl Fare (well, probably after a Daily Dose of Cute or two) I'll be sharing my recipe for Swiss Chard Tuna Salad, a refreshing twist on the classic standby that calls for a healthy dose of Swiss Chard (one of the best vegetables you can grow from seed) along with plenty of scallions.
In the meantime, here are some of my other favorite ways to use them:
Sour Cream & Onion Dip
Savory Cheese & Scallion Scones
Fiesta Cottage Cheese Veggie Dip
Mexican Jumping Bean Slaw
Summer in a Bowl
Colors of Summer Salad
Sprinkled on top of Hot Swiss Chard Artichoke Dip
Three Onion & Three Cheese Pizza (starring spring onions)
Related Kitchen Garden Posts:
Growing Onions In The Garden
3/16/06: It's Time to Plant Onions!
4/4/06: Operation Onion Complete!
4/26/06: Companion Planting Beets & Lettuce with Onions
© FarmgirlFare.com, the onion-breathed foodie farm blog where an overabundance of food in the garden is always cause to celebrate, even if we're not sure exactly what to do with all of it.
Korean pa jun! i.e., savory scallion pancakes. One of my favorites.
ReplyDeleteThe New York Times has a recipe (and traditionally you don't include the carrots--I just make mine with scallions and roughly chopped oysters).
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/28/dining/281mrex.html
The batter is just flour, eggs, and oil...but you can also buy a prepared mix from Korean grocery stores and then you just add water and scallions to the mix before frying in a pan.
You can use 10+ scallions for pa jun. :)
Ahoy!
ReplyDeleteI love your blog - all the different parts of it. I moved from the city to the country a few years ago as well, and while I moved to teach rather than to farm, we just bought a house and planted our first gardens. We're in Maine though, on an island, so things are just barely starting to pop up.
There were some beautiful scallions at the store the other day, though, and I made tabbouleh with them! I chopped up a pile of them and a white onion, two tomatoes, a hothouse cucumber, some parsley and mint from my pots/herb garden, and mixed it all with soaked bulgur wheat, olive oil, rice vinegar (because I forgot to buy a lemon, dur), salt and pepper. It went over well at the pot luck I brought it to!
You could make a scallion pickle or a kimchi with them. You could have cream of scallion soup (which is delish) or roasted scallions (which is also tasty). Or you could let them go dormant and save them as sets for the fall. They'll probably flower early, but you could still get some "spring (fall) onions" from them.
ReplyDeleteWhat a delicious problem!
I make my own parathas and add shredded scallions (spring onions) to the dough.
ReplyDeleteThey freeze uncooked fantastically as well.
I would donate any excess to my local food bank or soup kitchen.
ReplyDeleteStuff a chicken with them. I have often stuffed the cavity of a chicken with peeled garlic cloves.. FULL of garlic and it creates a wonderful flavor in the meat.. AND I have all this wonderful roasted garlic basted in chicken broth to use as I wish.. I imagine stuffing a chicken full of green onions would be similar, or if you like, mix in some garlic cloves as well.
ReplyDeleteI just read your post regarding Swiss Chard. Is it too late to plant it? Does it do poorly in Heat?
ReplyDeletesissyjane98@yahoo.com
125 scallions in the ground
ReplyDelete125 scal-li-ons
You pull one out
Chop it on salad
124 scallions in the ground...
:)
~ Monica
Make cebollitas! These are grilled onions with salt and lime. My local taqueria makes them.
ReplyDeleteHere's a recipe for Green Onion-Basil Oil:
ReplyDelete1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 cup basil leaves
Puree all ingredients in blender until smooth.
Doesn't get much easier than that!
I just harvested all of mine yesterday, too! I think I have nearly as many as you, and was just wondering what to do with them... I think I may try some Chinese Scallion Pancakes, served with peanut sauce. There's an excellent Chinese restaurant here in San Francisco (Eric's) that serves just this dish. Delicious!
ReplyDeleteThis recipe (which I've been dying to try because it is a delicious cheesy dip that would go so well with cocktails - champagne anyone?) for baked onion dip calls for sweet onions, but I bet would work with your spring onions.
ReplyDeleteLucky you! You've got an awful lot of onions to use before they lose their wonderful freshness! When I have a bumper crop I usually chop them, spread them on a cookie sheet and pop them in the freezer, then after freezing I transfer them to freezer bags so I can enjoy the flavor for months to come.
ReplyDeleteHi
ReplyDeleteI love your blogs. Your blogs as well as farm life makes me jealous. :-)
Here's a recipe with spring onions.
Heat a little oil, add cumin seeds, finely chopped green chilies and ginger. When it turns light brown, add chopped spring onion. Add salt, sprinkle a little water and cook for 2-3 minutes. Garnish with chopped cilantro.
This can be used as a sandwich filling.
Have a great time with scallions.
Bye
Bindhu
Why don't you trade your extra scallions and any other extra produce with fellow gardeners in your neighborhood? That's what we do in our neighborhood of Wrigley (Long Beach), CA.
ReplyDeleteCheck out or exchange board: http://chalkboardco-op.blogspot.com/
Try a green onion risotto. I use an Bon Appetit recipe as my baseline, and then liberally add more green onions or peas as I feel like it. Original recipe is here: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/GREEN-ONION-RISOTTO-233936
ReplyDeleteI usually use at least 10 onions for the basic recipe, and then chop the green parts of several more onions as a garnish, unless I'm serving it with chicken or salmon on top.
Congratulations on having such an excellent crop!
Try this:
ReplyDeleteSlice one spring onion no larger than 1/4 inch. Combine in a skillet with two pinches of sugar, 3 tbsp water, and a sprinkling of salt. Cover and cook until liquid evaporates and then carefully pour in a gulg of white wine. Cover, stirring once or twice, until wine evaporates (it will brown a bit on the bottom of the pan). transfer to a plate (saving as much of the browned glaze as you can) and eat.
Have you tried Green Onion Oil?
ReplyDeleteIt's a very easy to prepare homemade flavoring that is also a popular Vietnamese condiment. Take a cup of mild vegetable oil gently heated until hot but not smoking. Pour the oil over a bunch of your scallions thinly sliced and let cool. You can use Green Onion Oil in clear broths or as a flavoring on crisp salads or as a stir-fry oil. The oil will keep tightly covered in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days. That's tasty!
I cannot recall where I got the original recipe but I blanch green beans then brown about a tablespoon of butter, just to where it is nutty. Put the beans in with the scallions (cut into 1 inch pieces - both white and green parts) with a splash of balsamic vinegar. Sometimes I will blanch the green onions as well if they are large.
ReplyDeleteThat might help with a couple handfuls of the scallions. :) It is pretty tasty.
Scallion hummus! Chickpeas, lemon juice, olive oil, tons of scallions, salt. Hummus is one of my favorite things to make b/c it is so versatile--you could use edamame to make it Super Green Hummus--or whatever you like.
ReplyDeleteMy Greek father always makes a wonderful "village style" salad with romaine lettuce, tomato, cucumber, parsley, and lots of scallions. Dressed with vinagrette, this simple salad is always surprisingly amazing.
WOW...
ReplyDeletenot to fear...you could always give them to the local food bank. after all, with the increase in gas and food prices, some people are struggling to make ends meet.
I'm not sure if you're anywhere near a Korean market or like Korean barbeque but they're great with the barbequed meat. Take about 6 scallions and cut them into 2 inch pieces, then julienned those. Toss with a little toasted sesame oil, a pinch of salt and finely crushed red pepper flakes if you have them. Take a lettuce leaf, add a little rice, some meat (even teriyaki chicken is good) and some scallions. You'll want to make it at the last minute because the salt will break down the scallions over time.
ReplyDeleteI aloso love grilling them and sprinkling with a little salt as a side to grilled meat.
Could you pickle them? I see those little jars of pickled onions at the grocery but I don't know what variety of onions they were to start with.
ReplyDeleteI'm new here and just wanted to say that I really love your site! I dabble in gardening, but mostly shop the farmer's markets and cook a lot. Thanks for all the great recipes and info! Can't wait to try some of these!
ReplyDeleteHi Everybody,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for all the delicious scallion ideas! : )
This may be a little late but I have just found your blog (and adore it - my two favourite things, gardening and eating!)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, one thing I LOVE as a side dish or even a meal on its own is leek and bacon just diced and fried. I do the bacon first and then just use the fat from that to do the leek. I imagine it would also work well with scallions. If the flavour is too strong a bit of white cabbage is good to add and makes it a bit milder.
PS - HI :)
I'll swap you some bok choy for it - it's the only thing I can grow at the moment!
ReplyDeleteI've got the same issue as you. My co-worked just handed me a basket full of green onions, so I need to find some recipes.
ReplyDeleteThe suggestions of the onion cake sound great, as does the roasted green onions. I haven't tried that before.
Great site.
While I realize I am quite late with my suggestion here it is if you still have some, or for next year. I was watching Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations and he ended up at a Basque festival where they charred bushels of scallions over fire and then wrapped them in paper for them to sweat for 45 minutes and they pulled the outer skin off and ate them plain or in this roasted pepper and nut sauce.
ReplyDeleteOkay, first things first - I LOVE YOUR BLOG! There, I said it. I live in Northwest Arkansas on Beaver Lake (around the War Eagle river area) and totally relate to you! You're great! To answer: I've seen the Cajun Gardener pull up mass quantities of spring onions and simply snip the tops (green part) with kitchen shears and freeze those in a ziplock bag for later use in winter soups/stews, etc. Then, I thought what about (I know, please don't shoot me down yet) but what about CANNING the bulbs of the spring onions. They appear to be the perfect size of onion to make creamed onions with on Thanksgiving with sherry/nutmeg/cream/etc. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteI'll be checking back... I have a raised garden too!
Thanks again for all of your hard work,
Reahannon