Antioxidant Onions by Ruth Paget
Mark Kurlansky writes about everything onion in his book The Core of an Onion. Kurlansky begins by writing that though onions do not have as much protein, which builds and repairs muscles and bones, as other vegetables they do have some.
They also contain significant amounts of other nutrients such as the following;
-Vitamin C – an antioxidant that helps remove free radicals that may cause can cancer from the body
-calcium- a mineral associated with healthy bones and teeth
-iron – makes hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen to the brain
(Additional information obtained from Betterhealth Victoria – Australia, Harvard Medical School, and the National Institutes of Health)
Kurlansky also writes that as late as World War II, onions were used to dress wounds to prevent infection by the Russian army.
The fun part of Kurlansky’s book are the 100 historical recipes that he has put together.
Two of the onion soups he writes about should be in everyone’s culinary repertoire.
The first soup is Missouri-Kansas-Texas Onion Soup – a railroad classic. This soup contains diced onions, which are sautéed in butter until brown and added to boiling chicken broth. The chicken broth is seasoned with parsley, garlic, bay leaves, and Worcestershire Sauce.The soup is poured over croutons and topped off with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. This soup is an American pantry classic.
The second soup is a French Vichyssoise, a chilled leek and potato soup that is puréed with milk and cream. I made this soup often in Stuttgart, Germany when I lived there. When it was 30 below outside in winter and windy, all soups seemed to chill naturally. Sometimes I even made vichyssoise with onions, which gave it a more velvety texture without too much difference in taste.
Other recipes that Kurlansky write about look especially good including:
-onion bread
-Welsh onion and potato tart
-creamed onions to go with steak or roast pork
The best thing about cooking with onions is that they are less expensive than most other vegetables, which makes The Core of an Onion by Mark Kurlansky a reference cookbook for the budget minded.
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
