Where would we be in the kitchen without the onion? Onions are one of the most important ingredients in French cuisine, which itself has influenced countless cuisines and cultures across the globe. This is one food that I feel like there is a long list of things to talk about, but the question is truly “where to start?” The earliest evidence for cultivation and consumption of onions dates to the Bronze Age where traces of onions were found alongside the remains of dates and figs. Onions were worshiped by the ancient Egyptians, Greek athletes used them to balance the blood and firm muscles, and in the Middle Ages, onions were used as everything from currency to cure-all’s. And to add to all that, the Allium family also includes a wide variety of plants that I’ve decided to showcase for the 20th week of Reddit’s 52 Weeks of Cooking Challenge!
I was inspired for this after look at an old issue of Saveur that had a similar recipe. Their recipe called for a base of onion puree with cooked onions as the topping, garnished with scallions and chives. While the idea intrigued me, the recipe didn’t seem as impressive. One of the chefs at work suggested a soubise sauce, a classic preparation from Escoffier’s Le Guide Culinaire. And when I say suggested, I mean that he asked me if I knew what it was, then made fun of me for not knowing, but that’s beside the point. Soubise is basically a bechamel with the addition of white onion puree, and worked perfectly as the base of the pizza.. Rather than the mixture of sweated onions that the magazine called for, I opted for an Italian sweet and sour preparation known as confiturra. I cooked down leeks, shallots, and red onion with wine, vinegar, honey, and gratuitous amounts of rosemary until it got a nice, jam-like consistency. The scallions and chives stayed, however. I always like something nice and green with heavier flavors. All that was left was a nice crust and some cheese to complete the package. Overall, it didn’t come out as onion-y as I expected, but not in a bad way. The confiturra tasted more like rosemary than onion, but it definitely still had that characteristic flavor. The scallion and chives on top gave a nice fresh contrast to the richer flavor of the cooked onions.
Six Onion Pizza
Soubise:
- White Onion, diced, 1 each
- Butter, 2 tablespoons
- Thyme, 2 sprigs
- Milk, 2 cups
- Flour, 3 tablespoons
Cook onion in 2 tablespoons butter and thyme until very tender, but not colored. Puree until smooth, adding a small amount of milk as necessary. Strain onion puree to remove liquid. In a small sauce pot, melt butter and combine with flour. Combine strained onion liquid with remaining milk. Slowly add milk to roux, whisking to combine. Cook until thickened. Stir in onion puree until combined. Keep warm, or cool and store in an airtight container until ready to use.
Onion Confiturra
- Olive Oil, 2 tablespoons
- Leeks, 2 each
- Red Onion, sliced, 1 each
- Shallots, sliced, 2 each
- Rosemary, 6 sprigs
- Bay leaves, 3 each
- Balsamic Vinegar, 1/2 cup
- Sherry Vinegar, 1/4 cup
- White Wine, 1/4 cup
- Honey, 1/4 cup
- Sugar, 1/4 cup
- Salt, as needed
- Black Pepper, as needed
Remove dark greens from leeks. Cut in half lengthwise, remove root end and slice thinly. Soak in a large bowl of water to remove any dirt. Drain from water and pat dry. In a large sauce pot over medium heat, cook leeks, onion and shallot until they start to become tender. Add rosemary and bay leaves and continue cooking until onions are completely tender. Combine vinegars, wine, honey, and suigar. Add to onions and continue cooking until liquid is reduced and thickened, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Allow to cool and store in an airtight container until ready for use.
Pizza Dough
- Beer, 1 cup
- Honey, 1 teaspoon
- Dry Yeast, 1/4 oz
- Olive Oil, 2 tablespoons
- All-Purpose Flour, 3 cups
- Salt, 1 teaspoon
Heat 1/4 cup of beer to 115 degrees. Combine honey and yeast with warm beer and allow to proof for 10 minutes. Combine yeast mixture with remaining beer and oil, mixing to combine. Add flour 1 cup at a time until dough forms. Place into a greased bowl, cover, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours. Press to release gas and divide into 2 even pieces. Cover and allow to rise again, about 1 and a half hours.
Pizza Assembly
- Pizza Dough
- Soubise
- Confiturra
- Pecorino cheese, as needed
- Scallion, thinly sliced, as needed
- Chives, thinly sliced, as needed
Preheat a pizza stone in an oven at 500 degrees. Roll out dough to about 12 inches. Top with sauce, confiturra and cheese. Transfer to pizza stone and bake until crisp and browned, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and top with scallions and chives.
This sounds wonderful! I also didn’t know what a soubise was, but methinks it will feature in one of my recipes very soon. 🙂