What Do You Do With a Boatload of Shallots?

I needed a couple of shallots for something I was making the other day, but we I got to Fresh Farms, all they had was a tray of about 20 shallots for $2.49. Well, although I only needed two, the price was right. Now I've got a tray with 18 shallots sitting on my counter and I just don't know what to do with that many. Any suggestions?

If you have a teenager, i put them on that awful gunky cheese when doing nachos.
Otherwise, I use them in beef broth when making soup.

Also - i have put them into a vitamix with very little water and frozen into little cubes to use for flavoring at a later date.

exvaxman wrote:i have put them into a vitamix with very little water and frozen into little cubes to use for flavoring at a later date.

My preferred method is chopped/pureed w some dry white wine and refrigerated. Will last a few wks. Add them to pretty much anything you cook. As Evil ronnie quotes "they're cheap".

Braise them with red wine or balsamic vinegar. Serve as a vegetable.

maybe an onion marmalade to spread on charcuterie and stuff.

combine with onions to make french onion soup, or an onion tart. sautee them and freeze and put into stews you make.

Pickle them.

Fry 'em up for snacking or topping pureed rutabaga or Thai salads.

Link to rutabaga/crispy shallot post

Nam Prik Pao

Funny you should ask. I just happened to post a recipe for a caramelized shallot vinaigrette in my wild rice thread. The sherry vinegar and fig vincotto bring out the sweetness of the shallots and their caramel flavors. The dressing might be good drizzled over baked acorn or butternut squash. I see a side of kale with that.

Whatever you do, be sure to deglaze the f&*k out of them!



=R=

Make fried shallot oil: http://www.noobcook.com/fried-shallots-shallot-oil/

Roast them. I used this recipe last weekend and then made a shallot dressing for a green bean, onion, & corn salad from Ruhlman's Twenty. So easy & really delicious. http://recipecircus.com/recipes/Kimberl ... llots.html

Confit those bad boys: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/shallot-confit

Not only will they keep forever, and they can be used 100 ways (dressings, marinades, spread on bread), but you also get shallot oil out of it.

Hi,

I store them with the onions and garlic to use over time. I might buy a few pounds as the farm season draws to a close. By the end of winter, I have a few left. They seem to have reasonable keeping power.

Some years ago, there was a long gone French restaurant in Highwood who made a sizeable annual purchase of shallots. They invited people to volunteer peeling them for few hours in exchange for a dinner. I have no idea what they did with those peeled shallots.

If you freeze them, I suggest double bagging them. I learned a few years ago, my youngest sister bought frozen onions. The next time I visited, I brought ten pounds of onions, which I chopped into various sizes and shapes. These were packed into freezer bags. Over time the odor crept into other foods stored in the freezer.

Regards,

Unfortunately dehydrating shallots causes them to lose a lot of flavor, but making chips with them are nice for adding to dips or garnishing salads. I have soaked shallots in bottles of vinegar. A few drops of rice wine vinegar with shallots and basil soaked in it makes for a great low-cal salad dressing. Balsamic vinegar works well also and really brings out the sweetness of the shallots.

I ended up caramelizing the shallots along with some onions and combined that mixture with a couple kinds of sautéed mushrooms. I used the mixture to top some steaks that I grilled last night. The shallot/onion mixture turned out great and really complemented the steaks.

Did anybody mention making jam?

ronnie_suburban wrote:Whatever you do, be sure to deglaze the f&*k out of them!
=R=

That is hilarious. Parker & Stone are pure genius! Can't wait to see Book of Mormon.