Scalloped Vidalia Onions

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* Exported from MasterCook *

 

Scalloped Vidalia Onions

 

Recipe By : Beans Greens and Sweet Georgia Peaches by Damon Lee Fowler

Serving Size : 6 Preparation Time :0:00

Categories : Sda-Veg-Recipes2 (AT) Egroups (DOT) Com Side Dishes

 

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

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6 medium Vidalia or other sweet onions -- (about 3 pounds)

1 cup soft bread crumbs

Salt and whole white peppercorns in a -- peppermill

Nutmeg in a grinder

2 cups heavy cream (minimum 36 percent milkfat)

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup dry bread crumbs

1 cup toasted pecans (recipe below) -- cut into slivers

Toasted Pecans

1 pound whole pecan halves or other nut -- see note

2 tablespoons unsalted butter -- no substitutes

Salt

 

Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350

degrees F. Cut off the root and stem ends of the onions, peel them, and cut them

crosswise into ¼-inch rounds.

 

Lightly butter a 9 X 13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle the bottom lightly with soft

bread crumbs. Place a row of onion rounds at one end of the dish, sprinkle more

soft crumbs over them, and season them lightly with a sprinkling of salt. Add

another row of onion rounds, overlapping the first one. Sprinkle this row with

more soft crumbs and a bit of salt, and continue until all the onions are in the

dish in one layer of overlapping rows. Sprinkle with a few generous grindings of

white pepper and gratings of nutmeg, and pour the cream evenly over all.

 

Put the butter in a skillet and turn on the heat to medium. When it is just

melted, turn off the heat and add the dry bread crumbs and pecans. Stir until

the butter is evenly absorbed, and then spread the crumbs and pecans over the

onions. Bake in the upper third of the oven until the onions are tender, the

juices thick, and the crumbs nicely browned, about one hour.

 

Toasted Pecans:

Position a rack in the center of the oven, and preheat the oven to 275 degrees

F. Spread the pecans on a wide, deep-rimmed pan. Roast them in the center of the

oven, stirring occasionally until they begin to color, about 45 minutes to an

hour. The nuts ill continue to darken and crisp as they cool, so don't let them

get too dark.

 

Cut the butter in bits, and add it to the pecans. Stir until it has just melted

and the nuts are evenly coated. Return them to the oven and toast for about 10

minutes more.

 

Salt the pecans to taste while they are still hot and toss them until they are

uniformly coated. Usually, the pecans are allowed to cool completely before

serving, but in the winter, I serve them still toasty-warm from the oven. To

store them (assuming you have very strange company and actually have leftovers),

make sure the pecans are completely cool and place them in a tightly sealed

container, such as a glass jar, a plastic storage bowl, or a tin box.

 

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NOTES : You can follow this recipe to toast almost any nut-almonds, cashews,

filberts, and walnuts all work well. The cooking time is the same for all of

them.

 

Curry spices are a popular seasoning for toasted pecans in the South, especially

during the holiday season. Allow 1 tablespoon of Curry Powder for a pound of

pecans. Add it with the butter in step2, before the final toasting, which will

help the curry flavor develop. Serve warm.