San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
LONE STAR SWEETNESS
Give the Texas 1015 the culinary stage it deserves
They’re the size of a softball, sweet as candy and impossible to miss in the produce aisle right now. That’s right, folks: The famous Texas sweet onions are in season and will grace plates across the state for most of the summer.
This week we’ve given those globes the star treatment they deserve in four recipes, including two main courses that balance their sweetness with savory beef and sausage, a flaky free-form pie sure to wow any brunch crowd, and a tangy relish you’ll reach for the next time you grill hot dogs or prepare a charcuterie board.
If you’re in the store, you may see these bulging beauties
— they’re significantly larger than most every other onion on shelves right now — labeled as “Texas 1015 Sweet Onions.” That variety is the most famous of a long line of sweet onions grown in Texas since the late 19th century.
The 1015 was developed in the 1980s by Leonard Pike, a horticulture professor at Texas A&M University, and is named for the ideal date to plant them: Oct. 15. While the Texas 1015 may not have the same name recognition as Vidalia and Walla Walla sweet onions, they’re popular nationwide and a significant cash crop with an economic impact of about $350 million for the state, according to Texas A&M.
So why go sweet when it
comes to onions? Well, for starters they’re significantly less painful on the eyes. Sweet onions contain far less of the irritating sulfur compounds found in other onions that often lead to tears while slicing and sauteing.
They’re also a sugary counterpunch to savory flavors. We’ve put that property to good use in two hearty main courses that give Texas 1015 onions top billing.
In one, we’ve stuffed hollowed-out sweet onions with a Moroccan-inspired mixture of beef — or lamb, if you prefer — and a mixture of dried fruit, herbs and spices resulting in an elegant and exotic dish. For a simpler and more familiar flavor, try our Sweet Onion, Sausage and Potato
Gratin. It’s a one-dish meal that will appeal to a wide range of palates
Sweet onions pair well with sharp and pungent cheeses, which we’ve showcased in a galette, a flat type of pie that bakes on a sheet instead of a pie pan. In ours, a tangle of caramelized sweet onions is swaddled with shredded Swiss cheese in a blanket of flaky dough — store-bought or homemade pie crust both work well — and baked to a golden brown. This dish can be treated as an appetizer or a whole meal when paired with a light salad to counter the buttery richness of the galette.
Whether you’re using sweet onions or not, onion relish is easy to make at home and is a perfect condiment at cookouts and dinner parties alike. Our version is spiced up with diced red jalapeño chiles and whole cumin seeds, making it a perfect topper for everything from a grilled rib-eye to a smoky brisket taco or other South Texas favorites.