Onion tips

Cooking with onions

The aromas of onions develop and sweeten when cooked at lower temperatures over a longer period of time. When using onions in braises, soups or stews, begin by cooking them over a medium-low heat for 10 minutes without allowing them to brown. They will naturally take on a pale gold colour after 10 minutes, and the flavour will be deliciously stronger. This is great for many meat dishes but when using onions as a base for vegetable soups or tomato based pasta sauces, they are better cooked over a low heat until soft but still pale. It is possible to gently simmer onions in butter or olive oil for an hour until almost caramelised - as you would to make a sweet onion tart.

Peeling and chopping onions

To peel an onion quickly, cut it in half lengthways then pull the top layer of coloured skin away - you will find it easier to get a grip on the skin at the cut edge. Pull off the skin then trim the upper shoots, leaving just the onion flesh and the lower root end stalk.

To chop an onion into small pieces in no time, place the peeled half onion flat side down on a chopping board and hold the stalk end. Use a sharp or serrated knife to make horizontal cuts about ½ cm apart, towards the stalk but not all the way. Then make ½ cm cuts, downwards and lengthways, putting the tip of the knife in close to the stalk end. Finally hold the onion down with your fingers, and make ½ cm cuts across the layers, working towards the stalk end. The onion will break up into small even sized dice. Once you are good at this, you will be able to make dice smaller than ½ cm.