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15 October 2010

Pair With Pork: French Onion Casserole

Cooked slowly onions can turn wonderfully sweet. Try this easy casserole for your holiday or weekend dinner.

harvested onions


From Denny: Talk about sweetness in a casserole - and easy to do at that! This recipe goes well with pork. Pork is in season this fall. Any meat needs a good pairing of veggies to help digest the heaviness.

What are the benefits of onions?

Well, for starters, onions act as blood thinners to keep cholesterol from forming in your arteries. The sulpher in them also helps kill possible parasites in the digestive track. While you get the most benefit and vitamins like vitamins B and C from raw onions, cooked onions are good too.

Did you know that onions have been used for centuries to cure various illnesses? They act as an expectorant to help clear up mucous which is why drinking onion soup when you have a cold helps relieve the symptoms. Onions also have iron in them and this iron is easier to assimilate than from most sources.. Physicians have recommended onions in the diet since ancient times to allieviate anemia. Who knew onions were so useful? :)

Onion varieties to use in this recipe:  Vidalia, Walla Walla, OSO Sweet or Texas Sweet.  These are all mild and sweet onions.  Yellow, white or red onions will have a more intense flavor but if that's all you have on hand just know that the cheese and mushroom soup mixture will help reduce the sharpness.  This casserole has a slight nutty flavor.

When I use butter in a recipe I always clarify it to remove the cholesterol trouble-makers: the milk fat.  Clarifying it to the point of when the milk fat browns will give this oil a wonderful rich golden color and a nutty flavor that is irresistible.  You can sauteed veggies in it without much more seasoning if you like.  Yes, the flavor of browned clarified butter is that good!  I even put it on uncooked pizza before I put it in the oven to bake.

For a party:  make sure to have at least one French bread slice for each person you are serving.


harvested onions


French Onion Casserole

From: Barrie Griffin

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

3 Vidalia onions or onions of your choice
2 tbls. margarine or butter
1 (8-oz.) pkg. sliced fresh mushrooms
2 cups shredded Swiss cheese, divided
1 (10 3/4-oz.) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (5-oz.) can evaporated milk
2 tsps. soy sauce
6 (1/2-inch thick) slices French bread (she uses Pepperidge Farm Twin French loaves, it’s about a 2-2 1/2-inch diameter loaf)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley


Directions:

Peel and slice onions into about 1/4-inch slices. Cut those slices into quarters.

In large skillet, melt margarine or butter and sauté onions and mushrooms until tender.

Using a slotted spoon remove onions and mushrooms to lightly greased 7- x 11-inch casserole dish.

Top with half of the Swiss cheese.

In small bowl, combine cream of mushroom soup, milk and soy sauce. Whisk together until smooth. Pour soup mixture over cheese. Spread evenly over the top.

Top casserole with French bread slices.

Mix chopped fresh parsley and remaining cheese together and spread over top of casserole. Refrigerate 4 to 8 hours.

Bring to room temperature then bake, covered with foil in preheated 375-degree oven for 30 minutes. Uncover and continue baking an additional 15-20 minutes or until top is nicely browned. Watch to prevent over-browning.



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