Go to the Article: Tips & Tricks: Swap Cream With Onion Purée for Better, Brighter Flavor
could I use this in an ice cream base to make a savory, dairy free ice cream?
How long will it stay on the fridge? Can I freeze it in small vaccum bags and take whenever I want?
My initial response would be no(not technically an ice cream), due to the fact that an ice cream needs to have some sort of coagulating agent like egg yolks. However you could make a sorbetto(ice cream without the egg) and in this case without the cream. haha. I would love to hear how it goes if and/or when you try it. keep us posted
also great for kosher, where you cant mix cream with meat.
how much lemon and olive oil?
Daniel Levy asked and I want to ask again-how man onions, how much lemon and olive oil?
I actually serve something very similar as a soup. Roasted, thoroughly pureed onions, a little veg stuck to adjust texture, salt and white pepper. I serve it with a couple cloves of garlic confit, a few hand-torn croutons, and fried slices of shallot. Looks and tastes like a creamy onion soup, but essentially no fat, and incredibly easy. Just make sure the onions are cooked until very, very soft, usually more like 60-75 minutes.
Oh, and BTW what temp and how long to roast?
Can't say that I'm enjoying the 'recipe-less' recipes to be honest
This is kind of like telling me, "To make your own edible arrangements at home, just add melon, strawberries, pineapple, grapes, and some skewers in a bowl" The cream replacement is a great idea, but it would be great to give us a tested recipe instead of sending us to another website to find one... or saving the embarrassment of roasting onions to charcoal.
Great idea. Love it. It's not necessarily "healthier" though. In fact, there are more carbs in this than in cream.
Ok who's writing these? Chefsteps has gone from "get your micrometer out to measure the noodle width, it should be 1.1235mm", to the last couple of posts which have been "shred some carrots in your rice" and "throw some lemon juice in it".
That is a great idea, guys. Plus it is not always possible to keep a carton of cream around. Once you open a carton it goes bad fast.
Agreed. Not very chefsteps.
Awesome!! Let's be honest though, you just want to show off the beard. We get it.
Dan Levy? Is that you???
Just to stick my 2 cents in...this is amazing if you use pistachio oil in a wild mushroom soup.
I was thinking the same thing
They ar teaching kitchen techniques, lots of them are seemingly simple. But the results from these simple techniques are often remarkable. Being a chef is very much about knowing several techniques and combining them to come up with new dishes. I think these tips & tricks are interesting.
I too love the scientific detailed nitty-picky approach at ChefSteps (and miss this occasionally) but this small hint with a baked light onion pure is also quite clever.
Wow, I totally don't understand some of the negativity here. Sure, Chefsteps is partly about precision techniques and recipes, but for me it's primarily about inspiration, experimentation, and adaptation. Don't know what proportion of onion:lemon:olive oil to use here? I dunno...why don't you try it out and tell us what you found? (Maybe I will).
I like this sort of thing a lot precisely because it's NOT super precise and DOESN'T require a ton of ingredients and or use super chef-y techniques. While on occasion I love to go all out and make some modernist chicken liver pate on a weekend, it's these kind of think-outside-the-box techniques that can truly elevate my everyday cooking.
I know! I look forward to all the little precise details and geeking out with my scales- I search and click all over but no recipes. Hmm... I'm a Luddite though, maybe I'm not doing this right? I never did think of dried rose petals in my rice though 😋 So I guess there's at least one positive! Perhaps constructive feedback is in order. I know you're disappointed. Me too. What's the deal, ChefSteps? Are you getting too big to blog?
Hey ChefSteps! I'm sure you're all getting very busy but stop being a tease! 😜These posts as of late have been a little bland... What's happening?
Missing your efforts on the details 🔎💡and video front📹. I hope all is well and that this puffery you're tiding us over with means you're cooking up something a little extra badass to rock our worlds! Keep up the hard work! Your efforts don't go unnoticed.
Still a fan!
i love it !!!
Cooking is all about creativity, you can't write it all down, sometimes an onion is just what it takes Relax folks and enjoy your meal. Don't overexamine it all the time . We are cooks , not lab-people...
Good tip. I don't often have cream at home, but always have a ton of onions. Send out an email when you attach this to a recipe so we can see it in action.
And there is a good chance once might also want to adjust the quantities based on the intended application
there are all kinds of people learning on this site. this is very good for us beginners you know. it just gives you a little edge. thank you ChefSteps for thinking about us too! very plain and simple techniques anyone can follow and it makes such a big difference in your end result.
I think the negativity is a little unfair. There are people of all skill levels discovering this site everyday and not everyone has access to every tool. The work required (research, testing, food guidelines compliance, filming, website update) must take an awful long time. Let's face it: most of the time, they're pretty close to "re-inventing the wheel" with every post. They seem to come out with a number of new dishes and classes in one go which should give us all plenty to work on in the mean time. I take interest in the top level stuff, but also welcome everyday tricks like the onion purée as another feather in the cap when I'm next at the cooker.
Hmmm did my comment got deleted?
I can see your frustation but I think sometimes is good to do things a little differently. This recipe for example is a simple roast and blend, and they do specify 400ºF/200ºC for about 45 minutes, I don´t see any need to go deep into ingredient measurements with this one. Also this gives us the liberty to try adding more of this or less of that, and even adding new ingredients.
I really like your idea and its wonderful to have substitutions for dairy in recipes. I will try this in a non-classic Duxelle sauce in buckwheat crepes instead of using creme. Another suggestion I was given for a cream substitute was to make a cashew cream; the recipe is at Rouxbe under "Cashew Béchamel" (if if is ok to post the reference here). Thank you.
Don't the little things that can impact all types of dishes carry any weight? I love this because it I see onions in a different way than I have ever before - some times shifting the angle of the camera is more valuable then buying the new $10K lens....
I'm trying this tonight with pasta, crispy bacon, parmesan, shrimp and scallops. It would also be awesome for a Pasta Primavera
Boy I'm sure glad we're talking brain surgery here. Come on its a great idea and if you can't take this and adjust it to use it as some sort of flavor enhancer would you even be subscribed to this page anyway?
Please let us know how it tasted!
Ethan,
I completely and wholeheartedly agree with you. I am a classically trained chef who also went to the CIA and have worked for several Michelin star restaurants. This is a great technique and as you have mentioned is used to inspire the artist to create what they want this onion for. If people want an exact recipe and they want it to come out 'exactly right' (whatever that is) then they should go find a cookbk or better yet become a baker. Exact science is for baking and rocket science; cooking is neither. There is a reason why people like you and I enjoy cooking so much and the rest suffer through it and Yelp all the time: they don't 'get it'. If these recipes don't inspire you or help you to create a new recipe then stay in the office and stay out of the kitchen. There is a reason why teachers and chefs are paid so poorly: it is because the right people are doing the right job. Enjoy your food Ethan, I'm sure those around you do as well. For all others, if you don't enjoy the process of cooking then at least enjoy watching someone who does. That blue blood mentality does not belong in the kitchen. The mentality and perception that all cooks yell and scream and throw things is complete bullshit. We love our food and we love what we do; we're just very passionate about it like you, Ethan. Wok on and carry a big wooden spoon :-)
Here is the recipe for those who really want one to start from:
Note: all of these are simply "about this much" as it is not a technical recipe.
900g - 3 sweet onions (we use Vidalias) And you loose about half weight to roasting and peeling
70g - oil of your choice olive can over power, sometimes a nut oil is best
20g - lemon juice or vinegar
6g - salt
Optional below:
1g xanthan gum if you want it to be crazy smooth( the one in the video does not have this)
2g titanium dioxide if you want it to be crazy white, the one in the video does not have this)
The truth is we want these series to be more empowering, we want to create content that helps you make creative choices in the kitchen, building skills so you can cook confidently without recipes. There is a time and a place to measure and other times you simply do not need to. But I would love to hear reasons why everyone here measures somethings and others they dont.
I usually dont measure anything when I make this. I coat the onions with oil and salt then roast the onions until the are very soft, to the touch. I let them cool until about room temperature. I cut them in half and throw them in the blender, depending on what I am using the "cream" for I may or may not add lemon or salt. I simply sprinkle in xanthan until smooth, and when I want to get real crazy I dust some titanium oxide in the blender as well so its as white as cream can be. It is always lovely no matter what because I can adjust any quality of this recipe to the end.
Hope this helps all,
Grant
You are a saint. OMG
Pic please!
Some folks feel non-dairy is healthier. I can't find anyplace in the text that mentions low-carb. Did I miss that?
Dude watch the video. It's in there.
I don't think one can become a good cook without a little imagination! In this case, how much lemon tastes good to YOU? A teaspoon? A tablespoon? A different amount depending on what you're adding it to? Same with the olive oil (to give it just the right consistency that YOU like) and the salt. Just "season to taste" with oil, lemon and salt, and so what if it's a little different each time!
Absolutely agree!!! Auguste Escoffier, one of the first pioneers to document recipes never mentioned quantities, just ingredients while it comes to Xanthan Gum or other ingredients that require precision I can understand the need for exact quantities (in order to reduce trial and error), but here?
Anyway, I used 8 med size onions, juice of 1 nice lemon (about 80 ml), 100 ml olive oil, 2 teaspoons of salt (i actually used salt mixed with fine herbs) and... 10 garlic cloves (roasted them with the onions, but just for 15 min) - it's great with sous vide roast beef ...
Hey, I thought I would add my 2 cents on this matter.
I'm not a chef by trade or training. Cooking is something I do on my weekends for fun and relaxation.
To me confidence and creativity in the kitchen comes AFTER knowing what I'm doing. For example I wanted to learn how to make pizzas so the first step for me was NOT just going out there throwing some creative amount of flour yeast and water in a bowl and hoping for the best.
- I first made some pizzas according so some google search results ... they were fun to make, but only okay at best.
- Then I discovered Kenjis pizza recipes I made his Neopolitan and New York bases several times... First time making them I kinda had no idea what I was doing but the results were better than earlier pizza attempts and it was clear I was heading down the right path.
- After making Kenjis pizzas several more times (strictly to the recipe) I began to get a feel for the dough, making connections between how it felt kneading and how that translated through the rest of the cooking process and ultimately into a good pizza.
- I then made several of the doughs from modernist cuisine books and got a feel for how they worked.
NOW, after making maybe 100+ or so pizzas over the past 3 years I feel confident in making my own pizzas, I feel confident using a base recipe but making alterations based on how it "feels" or even making alterations to try and be creative with my results.
For me I need a jump off point, I like to find strict, well developed recipes that I can execute, learn, and then become confident enough with to throw some creativity in there / make substitutions etc. I would never attempt this in reverse order.
I still think that one of the best examples of this offered on ChefSteps (or any website for that matter) was the Caneles recipe. It offered a solid recipe to start with, something to practice and get used to ... then once comfortable with what was going on it offered a creative jump off. Brilliant! I read that page numerous times and it inspired confidence and creativity. EDIT: Another beautiful example was the pages of pesto in Modernist Cuisine at Home. Those two pages taught me I could make pesto from damn near anything!
I'm a huge consumer of cookbooks but the only websites I visit are ChefSteps and Serious Eats (really only Kenji's stream too) because they offer a very solid grounding in science, accuracy and straight up good flavor. There are DOZENS if not hundred of blogs and sites out there that offer pretty pictures of plated dishes with beautiful lighting on antique wooden tables. I love ChefSteps but honestly, if you took away those highly refined, accurate and straight up delicious recipes and simply left us with eye candy and lyrical verse there would be little to distinguish it from something like theKitchn.com
Keep up the awesome work.
EDIT: I do realize that this is likely a series and not a change in direction for the site as a whole... but still.
Dont be making sense Diane....Some cant cope with it.
Got forbid people actually learn that they can experiment
Exact quantities help people get started. Since you are more experienced and know all the answers, why don't you just go your own way, quietly, instead of polluting a nice, helpful page with your self aggrandizement?
pffft. "they don't 'get it'. If these recipes don't inspire you or help you to create a new recipe then stay in the office and stay out of the kitchen" way to come off like a ******.
Maybe some people aren't as experienced as you. So why don't you just quietly go be imaginative somewhere else. You aren't adding to the conversation.
Grant, what does the oil do? Since we're roasting in the paper (or whatever it's called), I don't quite see the need.
