Oven-Fried Onion Bloom with Tangy Dipping Sauce

by Michelle Dudash, Chef and Registered Dietitian Nutritionist

February 13, 2013 • 13 comments

If you’re like me, you love a good deep fry. I was born and raised in Wisconsin, after all, where I was no stranger to Friday fish fries and deep-fried cheese curds. I’ve enjoyed the deep-fried onion blooms found on restaurant menus across the country, too, though it’s been years since my last fix.

Recently, I honed my onion bloom cutting skills for a video I was in for USA Onions. I couldn’t let those beautiful trial blooms go to waste (and I was really craving one after thinking about it so much), so I whipped up this recipe to recreate my own at home. But baked, not fried.

Spanish sweet onions are particularly good for cooking because they have a high solid content and are low in moisture, so they retain their shape and texture throughout the cooking process. Since they contain more natural sugars than a traditional sweet onion, they have a rich mild flavor–perfect for taking center stage on the plate. At the grocery store, you can identify Spanish sweet onions by their globe shape and tight skins. If in doubt, just ask a produce associate.

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Oven-Fried Onion Bloom with Tangy Dipping Sauce

For the onion:

1 large Spanish sweet onion

1 large egg

1/2 cup (118 ml) lowfat milk

3/4 cup white whole-wheat flour (1/2 cup [62 g] separately, plus 1/4 cup [31 g] for the panko)

3/4 cup (38 g) panko breadcrumbs

1 1/2 teaspoons (3.5 g) sweet paprika

1 teaspoon (3 g) garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon (15 ml) expeller-pressed canola oil

For the dipping sauce:

1/2 cup (115 g) expeller-pressed canola oil mayonnaise

2 teaspoons (11 g) natural ketchup

1 1/2 teaspoons (7 g) Dijon mustard

1 1/2 teaspoons (8 ml) lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon cumin

To make the onion: Preheat oven to 425°F (200°C). Place a cooling rack on a cookie sheet.

To slice the onion, cut 1/2 inch (1.2 cm) off the stem end and cut the hairy knob off of the root end, being careful to leave the root intact so the bloom stays together. Peel off the skin. Using a very sharp knife, cut the onion like a pie into 16 wedges. Slice the onion approximately three fourths of the way through, leaving the root intact. Soak the onion in a bowl of ice water for 30 minutes.

In a wide shallow dish, beat the egg and stir in the milk. In a second shallow dish, add 1/2 cup flour. In a third shallow bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, paprika, garlic powder, Cajun seasoning, black pepper and salt. Drizzle in the oil while stirring.

After the 30 minute soak, remove the onion from the water and gently spread its petals open. Ladle the milk mixture into the onion, gently separating the petals, to coat well. Then coat the onion in the flour, again spreading open the petals of the onion to coat between them. Avoid forcing flour into the onion’s deep crevices so the center won’t be soggy. Coat the onion in the milk mixture again, using the same procedure. Add the remaining 1/4 cup flour to the breadcrumb mixture. Coat the onion in the breadcrumb mixture, separating the petals to ensure as much coverage as possible.

Place the onion on the rack and bake for 30 minutes, loosely covering just the top of the onion with tin foil after 5 minutes, to prevent burning the tips. Continue baking for 25 minutes or until the center of the onion is fork tender and no longer crunchy.

To make the dipping sauce: Stir together all of the sauce ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Serve onion bloom immediately with dipping sauce.

Prep time: 20 minutes (plus soaking time)

Cook time: 30 minutes

Makes 6 servings, 1/6 onion each (with 1 1/2 tablespoons sauce)

Nutrition Facts (per serving): 169 calories, 8 g total fat (1 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat), 349 mg sodium, 12 mg cholesterol, 18 g total carbohydrate (2 g fiber), 4 g protein, 7% DV iron, 3% DV calcium, 2% DV Vitamin A, 3% DV Vitamin C.

Disclosure: I work with USA Onions, however, they did not compensate me to develop this recipe or include them in this post. I just thought it would be fun. This post contains Amazon Affiliate links.

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Oven-Fried Onion Bloom with Tangy Dipping Sauce

By Michelle Dudash, Chef and Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Published: February 13, 2013

• Yield: 6 Servings
• Prep: 20 mins
• Cook: 30 mins
• Ready In: 50 mins

Oven-Fried Onion Bloom with Tangy Dipping Sauce. A healthier version of the traditional deep-fried onion bloom.

Ingredients

• For the onion:
• 1 large Spanish Sweet onion
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup (118 ml) lowfat milk
• 3/4 cup white whole-wheat flour 1/2 cup (62 g) separately, plus 1/4 (31 g) cup for the panko
• 3/4 cup (38 g) whole-wheat panko breadcrumbs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons (3.5 g) sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon (3 g) garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• For the dipping sauce:
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) expeller-pressed canola oil
• 1/2 cup (115 g) organic canola oil mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons (11 g) natural ketchup
• 1 1/2 teaspoons (7 g) Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 teaspoons (8 ml) lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425°F (200°C). Place a cooling rack on a cookie sheet.
   
2. To slice the onion, cut 1/2 inch (1.2 cm) off the stem end and cut the hairy knob off of the root end, being careful to leave the root intact so the bloom stays together. Peel off the skin. Using a very sharp knife, cut the onion like a pie into 16 wedges. Slice the onion approximately three fourths of the way through, leaving the root intact. Soak the onion in a bowl of ice water for 30 minutes.
   
3. In a wide shallow dish, beat the egg and stir in the milk. In a second shallow dish, add 1/2 cup flour. In a third shallow bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, paprika, garlic powder, Cajun seasoning, black pepper and salt. Drizzle in the oil while stirring.
   
4. After the 30 minute soak, remove the onion from the water and gently spread its petals open. Ladle the milk mixture into the onion, gently separating the petals, to coat well. Then coat the onion in the flour, again spreading open the petals of the onion to coat between them. Avoid forcing flour into the onion’s deep crevices so the center won’t be soggy. Coat the onion in the milk mixture again, using the same procedure. Add the remaining 1/4 cup flour to the breadcrumb mixture. Coat the onion in the breadcrumb mixture, separating the petals to ensure as much coverage as possible.
   
5. Place the onion on the rack and bake for 30 minutes, loosely covering just the top of the onion with tin foil after 5 minutes, to prevent burning. Continue baking for 25 minutes or until the center of the onion is fork tender and no longer crunchy.
   
6. Stir together all of the sauce ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to use.
   
7. Serve onion bloom immediately with dipping sauce.
   

• Cuisine: Vegetarian
• Course: Appetizer
• Skill Level: Easy