Roasted Knob Onions w/ Mushrooms & Cherry Tomatoes
Posted by Tracey Vowell on
- About a dozen onions
- 5-6 branches of thyme
- 6-8 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- A half pound of mixed mushrooms, cleaned and coarsely cut into pieces
- a little stock of your choice, or water
- Fat or oil
Turn the oven on to 400 degrees, and head a wide heavy pan with a lid, over medium heat.
Remove the knobs from the greens, and slice off just the tentacles of the roots, leaving the tiny core to hold things together.
I happened to have a pork roast cooking as I made this, so I took my fat from that roasting pan, and added the onion knobs and a good sprinkling of coarse salt, heating to a good sizzle, and then placing in the oven for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are starting to brown, but are still plump and firm.
Reduce the oven to 350, add the thyme branches, whole, then slice the cherry tomatoes in half and distribute across the pan.
Top with the mushrooms, again distributed across the pan, and another sprinkling of salt.
Add a quarter cup or so of stock or water, cover and return to the oven for about a half hour.
Slice the onion greens into 1-2 inch pieces and sprinkle into the pan, right over everything.
Replace the cover and return to the oven for 15 minutes or so, until the greens are tender, and beginning to fade just a bit off of bright green. I would be inclined to garnish with a good sprinkling of onion flowers over the whole dish (especially because as I'm publishing this, they will be gone soon).
Season again, put a spoon right in the pan, hopefully a basket of good bread beside, right onto the table
Like any other recipe I give you, there is a great deal of freedom here.
Feeling like you want a few cloves of that fresh dug garlic? Carry on. Thinking about trying the hyssop, or savory? I vote yes.
You might like a spark of acid with all that richness? Squeeze a lemon across the dish. Add a splash of sherry vinegar.
Want it to be more all encompassing, as far as dinner is concerned, cut up some carrots, maybe a kohlrabi to add from the start of cooking, or a few summer squashes, tossed in at the end.
