"shallots" news and stories

I've been cooking, in one way or another, for more than 20 years. That includes my early childhood experiments like when I would try to make hashbrowns on the days when I stayed home from school. Although tasty, they were always grey, a bit mushy and very visually unappealing. In recent years I've come to be something of an adequate cook, but I know that there is always more for me to learn.

It's in that spirit of continuing food education, that I particular love the post that David Lebovitz put up the day after Thanksgiving called "Ten Easy Ways to Improve Your Cooking." His tips are really helpful and include such easy changes as using lots of shallots, making a point of incorporating fresh herbs and rethinking the oils and vinegars you cook with. Another reason to go and check out this post is for the pictures as they are just lovely (that picture of thyme up above is borrowed from his post).

There must be something in the air, because while I didn't see this post until yesterday, about a week ago on a whim I bought a large bag of shallots at my local produce market. It's been lovely having them on hand as an alternative to my normal garlic and onions. They give food a sweeter, gentler flavor that I'm loving. They aren't wimpy though and still pack a punch that stands up to many of the stronger tastes out there.

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I have been subscribing to Everyday Food, Martha Stewart's squat cooking magazine, since it's inception January 2003. I still have every single issue I've received (although right now I'm using issues 1-34 to hold up the corner of a wall-mounted cabinet in my living room that is falling apart). A couple of weeks ago, Megan at Not Martha posted about her own collection of Everyday Food mags, prompted because a commenter on her site had mentioned that the original issue of the magazine had sold for $50 on eBay. The best part of Megan's post is the list she put together, complete with links, to all the recipes from EF that she likes and uses.

Her post got me thinking about my own collection of EF mags and started me flipping through some of my old issues (the ones that aren't anchoring said piece of furniture, at least). I stumbled across a recipe in the December 2006 issue that I made once last year and remembered loving. It's for Braised Chicken with Shallots and is perfect for these cooler winter days. It's also easy and makes good leftovers. The recipe is after the jump.

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Jam does not have to be sweet, though it is most often defined as a preserved mixture of cooked fruit and sugar that is quite sweet. David Lebovitz kept in some of the fruit and sugar elements of a traditional jam, but added some less traditional elements to make his Shallot, Beer, Prune, and Cocoa Nib Jam. It might not be the perfect complement for your morning scone or muffin, but the sweet and savory relish makes a nice hors d'oeuvre spread with cheese and crackers or counterpart to meaty dishes, such as lamb or, as David suggests, foie gras. And even f you don't want it on a scone, it would probably still make a lovely addition to breakfast with eggs and sausage.

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Some places, parts of the deep South and at least a few spots in Australia, for example, often use the word “shallots” to apply to green onions, or scallions. Though the white portion of a green onion has a similar flavor, it is not as subtle or delicate as the flavor of a shallot.

Shallots are bulbs that look like a cross between garlic and onion, which is remarkable given that their taste is similar to a sweet onion with a hint of garlic. They have a golden or reddish-brown, papery skin, like that of an onion that should be smooth when fresh and a slightly pink interior. The bulbs can sometimes be divided into "cloves", but when a recipe refers to a number of shallots, it is referring to the whole bulbs.

Fresh shallots should be slightly firm to the touch, with no soft spots. Smaller shallots will be slightly sweeter than larger ones. The complex flavor of a shallot makes it a popular ingredient in French cooking. Shallots caramelize like onions, but can become bitter over too high a heat, like garlic does. Approximately three shallots will equal one medium onion, in terms of size. Try substituting shallots in place of the garlic and onions in a recipe to compare the flavor, or try one of these recipes:

• Crispy Potato Cake topped with Caramlized Shallots
• Grilled Steak with Spicy Shallot Sauce
• Balsamic Glazed Garlic and Shallot Tart
• Shallot Compote

Until this dish, I was never a liver lover. Once again, I witnessed the amazing transformative properties of bacon, actually, in this case, pancetta. The following recipe has evolved since I started making it, and over the years I've incorporated aspects of recipes from Saveur, Marcella Hazan and Mark Bittman.

While this 'sauce' can easily serve as a fine pasta course with some pappardelle, my favorite thing to do is turn it into a paté by blending it in the food processor with a little tomato paste. The tomato paste adds an acidic sweetness to the liver and turns the color from that muddy paté-gray to a wonderful rust color.

[Photo: Nick Vagnoni]