Crispy Shallots

3 large shallots yields about 1.5 cups

These little gems are fabulous on top of just about anything!  Use them to replace the crunch of croutons on salads, French’s Fried Onions on casseroles, onion rings on burgers or anywhere you want a savory snap to complement more supple textures. 

Yes these are fried in oil, but as there is no breading not much is absorbed.  I like to use grapeseed oil because it has a higher smoke point – the temperature at which you go from frying onions to opening doors and windows and flapping a tea towel at the smoke alarm – but you could use canola, peanut (watch for guest allergies), sesame or regular olive oil.  Each will subtly impart a different flavor, so choose accordingly.  You could also switch up the shallots with leeks or sweet onion to suit your dish and pantry. 

Whatever you choose there are three tips/tricks to doing this right:

 1) Slice them thinly and consistently.  For this a mandolin is the tool of choice to ensure uniformity – they don’t have to be expensive and you can use them to whip up all kinds of things, from salads to Quick Pickled Red Onions.  For the shallots I use about a 1/16” blade.  You could try these in a food processor, just be careful to place them in in such a way that the slices are across the shallot, and not all over the place because you want rings that are moderately even so they all get crispy at the same time.  This is also an opportunity to hone your knife skills – sharpen that knife before you start, or you’ll be swearing. 

2) Don’t crowd the pan.  Do this in batches such that there is an even layer, and the rings don’t overlap too much or they have a tendency to stick together and not cook evenly.

3) Pull them before you think they are done.  Just like fish, if you think it’s not quite done, it’s perfect.  Carryover cooking means that that golden blush in the pan = nicely crispy on the plate.  Nicely golden in the pan = charred on the plate.  So when the first golden kiss appears, start removing those shallots with a flat, slotted metal spatula, or like apparatus, and continue around the pan.

Trim the ends, peel and thinly slice

• 3 or more large shallots or other onions

Heat a heavy-bottom bottom pan on medium and add

• ~ 1 c grapseed or other oil, or until the pan has about an inch of oil

Add shallots in batches, breaking up the slices into separate rings with your hands as you do.  Once barely golden, remove to a plate with a couple layers of paper towel on it.  Continue to shallow fry in batches until all are done – adding more oil if needed.  Take care to remove any charred bits before adding more onions, but you don’t have to change the oil.  When you are done and the oil is cool, you can save it for a later use by straining it through paper towel to remove any bits and bottling it separate from the unused oil.  

Add crispy shallots to your dish and munch away!

Recipes that benefit from Crispy Shallots:  Shmeat Loaf, Sunchoke & Celeriac Soup, Decadent Scalloped Potatoes, many salads, and for a decadent touch to anything slathered in Mmmmm Mushroom Gravy.