Spring onions — also called green onions and scallions — are very young onions that are harvested before the bulb has a chance to flower. Praised for their high nutritional kick, it is believed that spring onions, like most other alliums, not only have antibacterial and antiviral properties, but may also help aid digestion and lower blood sugar levels. Huh.
Onions take on many different and delicious forms, depending on how they are prepared. Raw and crunchy with a pungent and grassy flavor, they can be gently sweated in a pan with butter to bring out a deep mellow sweetness, or grilled with olive oil until they patch. They are almost non-burnt, which makes them attractively smoky and interesting.
When roasting spring onions, they only need to be cooked with olive oil, some crunchy sea salt flakes and coarsely ground black pepper on a hot grill pan or frying pan, under the grill, or on the barbecue. Enjoy the recipe below for this great Romesco, Catalonian Nut and Spicy Red Pepper Sauce, as a side to fish and meat, or as a great starter with some garlic mayonnaise.
I love this Spring Onion, Sweet Potato, Sumac and Feta Salad, below. It’s great on its own as a light meal or super with some barbecued lamb or chicken. Feel free to toss the sweet potatoes with olive oil and sumac, if you’d like. Cook the green onions on the barbie or under the grill, but just make sure they’re grilled until deep golden and caramelized.
The Burnt Spring Onion Dip, also pictured here, is similar to the one Yotam Ottolenghi made when he last attended cookery school in Ballymalo a few years ago. It’s deeply sweet, creamy, and smoky all at the same time – just divine to serve on crackers or alongside crunchy potato wedges.
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Rachel Allen Spring Onion and Sweet Potato Salad. Photo: Tony Gavin
Spring Onion, Sweet Potato, Sumac and Feta Salad
Serves 4-6
you will need:
1 large sweet potato (about 500 grams in weight before peeling), peeled
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing
1 tsp sumac
12 spring onions, trimmed and cut in half
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 small garlic clove, crushed
1 tablespoon cider vinegar or lemon juice
4 handfuls lettuce
75 g feta, broken into pieces
50 grams pumpkin seeds, lightly toasted in a dry frying pan
some coriander leaves
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“This spring onion, sweet potato, sumac and feta salad is super on its own as a light meal or with some barbecued lamb or chicken.” picture by Tony Gavin
Peel 1 sweet potato and cut it into quarters. Put the sweet potato pieces in a pot of salted boiling water and cook them until they are tender, about 8-10 minutes. Drain the water and cut sweet potato pieces 1 cm thick. Place them in a bowl with 1 Tbsp olive oil and sumac, toss gently to coat.
2 Place a grill pan or frying pan over high heat until hot. While the pan is heating up, drizzle about 1 Tbsp of olive oil on the prepared green onions, then cook them on the pan for 1-2 minutes on each side until they soften and form four lines of dark brown color. Don’t get marked with Season them with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Remove them from the pan and keep them aside.
Toss 3 cooked sweet potato slices into the pan with any olive oil and the sumac from the bowl. Fry for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden – you may need to cook the sweet potato slices in batches – seasoning again with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Remove the sweet potato slices from the pan and set aside along with the spring onions.
4 To make dressing, mix remaining 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil with crushed garlic and cider vinegar or lemon juice, whichever you’re using, then add sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste .
5 Arrange the lettuce in a shallow bowl or on a serving platter, then scatter the sweet potato chunks and green onions over the top and drizzle with most of the dressing. Top with feta chunks and lightly toasted pumpkin seeds, followed by some coriander leaves and, if you have them, some edible flowers and a final drizzle of top dressing.
Rachel recommends
To keep green onions in the fridge, wrap them in damp newspaper or kitchen paper.
Grilled Spring Onions and Romesco
serves 6
For Romesco you will need:
1 big red chili
3 large ripe tomatoes or 15 ripe cherry tomatoes
75 ml extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 large cloves of garlic
2 slices (slightly stale if possible) white or sourdough bread
75 g toasted almonds (see my top tip below)
tsp smoked paprika
lemon juice or red wine vinegar to taste, about 2 Tbsp
25-50 ml water
For the Grilled Spring Onions, you’ll need:
about 30 spring onions
50 ml extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Preheat oven to 220C, 425F, gas 7.
Cut 2 red chilies lengthwise into quarters and remove all the seeds. Place the quarters on a baking tray or roasting tray. If you are using larger tomatoes, cut them into quarters; If you are using cherry tomatoes, cut them in half. Add tomatoes to chili, drizzle with 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, and add sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Put all the cloves of garlic in the chili and tomatoes and spread everything in a single layer on the tray. Place the tray in the preheated oven and roast until the tomatoes are tender and the peppers are tender and slightly golden at the edges – this should take about 30 minutes. allow to cool.
3While the vegetables are roasting, soak white or sourdough bread, whichever you’re using, in a few tablespoons water until it is moistened — about 5 minutes. Squeeze out any excess water.
4 When the vegetables are roasted, squeeze the soft roasted garlic from the peel and remove the skin. Pulp in food processor along with roasted peppers and tomatoes and all juices from tray.
Add 5 toasted almonds, bread, remaining extra-virgin olive oil and smoked paprika to an almost smooth paste. Add some lemon juice or red wine vinegar, whichever you’re using, and add sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. If necessary, add a little water to thin the sauce a bit.
After this, grill the spring onions. Heat a grill pan or frying pan over high heat until hot (or preheat the grill in the oven or barbecue – see point 7 below). While the pan is heating, sprinkle the green onions with extra-virgin olive oil, then cook them on the skillet for 1-2 minutes until soft and dark brown as marked with four lines. Add sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
7If you’re cooking green onions under the grill or on the barbecue, they’ll cook very quickly, so watch them carefully and turn them regularly.
After 8 green onions are cooked, take them off the flame. Arrange them on a large serving platter, drizzling Romesco over it, or serve on the side. It’s divine while still hot or just too cold to chill.
top tip
To roast almonds for Romesco or anything else, spread them on a baking tray and cook them in a hot oven for about 6 minutes until they’re golden brown under the skins—otherwise, you’ll end up drying them. Toast in a frying pan. a medium to high heat,
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“When roasting spring onions, they only need to be cooked with olive oil, some crunchy sea salt flakes, and coarsely ground black pepper on a hot grill pan or frying pan, under the grill, or on the barbecue.” picture by Tony Gavin
Burnt Spring Onion Dip
serves 6
you will need:
1 whole head of garlic
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
About 4-5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
150 grams (about 12) chopped green onions
150 g cream cheese
110 g sour cream or crme frache
1 Preheat oven to 220C, 425F, gas 7.
Cut 2 garlic heads in half from side to side (not top to bottom). Season the cut edges with sea salt and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Put the two halves back together and place in a small ovenproof bowl or saucepan and cover with the lid of a small saucepan or a piece of tin foil.
3 Roast in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes or until the garlic is completely tender and tender inside. Allow the garlic to cool, then scoop out the soft flesh of the garlic from the skin. Reserve for later.
4 Place a grill pan or frying pan over high heat and let it get very hot. Drizzle 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil in the pan and then add the sliced green onions—all if you can grate them in a single layer. Cook them halfway through until the onions are charred and blackened – keep your guts up! If you want, you can cook green onions on a hot griddle.
Let 5 spring onions cool, then chop them as finely as possible and toss them with cream cheese, sour cream or crme frache, whichever you’re using, the reserved garlic puree and 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil. Mix together. , Add sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Mix well and taste and get the seasoning right.
Serve hot spring onion dip with 6 hot crispy potato wedges or crackers.