Pearl Onions
Pearl onions were a Thanksgiving staple in my mother’s youth, and we always had them on our Thanksgiving table. But actual pearl onions were impossible to buy in Texas when my mother first moved here. For many years she just bought the smallest white onions she could find, and just peeled them down to their centers, imitating an actual pearl onion. Fortunately, the flavor is the same whether you use regular white onions or pearl onions, though the texture is improved when you use the real thing. The recipe is simplicity itself:
Buy a bag of pearl onions, also called boiling onions. Get at least a pound, but you can cook up to three pounds if you are having a lot of people over.
Peel off the outer skin, but leave them whole.
Put them in a saucepan with just enough water to cover.
Bring to a boil and gently simmer until they are soft and translucent; this can take anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes depending on how many you are cooking.
When the water boils down to about a cup, add a half a stick of butter. (Use a whole stick if you are cooking three pounds.)
When they are finished, add salt and pepper to taste.
This article appears in November 17 • 2006.
