Shallots are valued for their gentle flavor, which has been called a combination of onion and garlic. They are tamer and easier to digest than either of their two cousins.
French cooks favor shallots’ flavor for sauces, salad dressings and some soups, and shallots are essential to classic French butter sauces such as buerre blanc.
– Availability: Shallots are available at most supermarkets year-round. Although usually sold in pre-packaged baskets or mesh bags, shallots sometimes are available with green tops attached.
A whole shallot looks like a bulb of garlic, only it is an earthy brown. Individual cloves look like large separated garlic cloves.
– Selection and storage: Look for firm bulbs with no sign of softness. Store shallots as you would onions or garlic in a cool, dry place (but not in the refrigerator, where they will mold). They will keep up to one month, according to Sharon Tyler Herbst in “The Food Lover’s Tiptionary.”
– Preparation: Shallots can be substituted for onions or garlic in recipes. Use three or four shallots for one medium onion.
They are more expensive than onions and garlic, though, so their use might be limited to special occasions where their buttery taste can add elegance to recipes.
Peeling a shallot is similar to peeling an onion: Trim off the roots and peel off the papery skin. Then chop, slice or mince.
When peeling a lot of shallots, drop unpeeled cloves into boiling water and let them soak about a minute, Herbst suggests. Drain and rinse with cold water, then peel them when they’re cool enough to handle.
– Nutritional highlights: Shallots are low in calories and sodium. They are a good source of vitamin A, potassium, iron and calcium.
ENGLISH PUB-STYLE PICKLED ONIONS
Preparation time: 35 minutes
Standing time: 2 days 8 hours
Chilling time: 1 month
Yield: 1 quart
From “The Joy of Pickling,” by Linda Ziedrich.
1/2 cup pickling salt
2 quarts water
1 1/2 pounds shallots or very small onions
2 cups malt vinegar
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 bay leaf, crumbled
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1/4 teaspoon each: whole allspice, hot pepper flakes
1. Dissolve 1/4 cup of the salt in 1 quart of the water in large bowl. Add shallots. Weight down gently with plate that fits inside bowl. Let stand 8 to 12 hours at room temperature.
2. Drain shallots; peel. Return to bowl. Prepare brine with remaining salt and water; pour over onions. Weight down gently again. Let stand 2 days.
3. Heat vinegar and sugar to boil in non-reactive saucepan. Remove from heat; let liquid cool. Drain onions; rinse. Drain again. Layer onions, bay leaf, peppercorns, allspice and pepper flakes in 1-quart jar. Cover with cooled, sweetened vinegar. Cover jar with non-reactive cap, preferably all plastic.
4. Refrigerate jar about 1 month before eating onions. They will keep at least 6 months refrigerated.
Note: A nutritional analysis is not included because it is difficult to determine exactly how much salt the vegetables absorb. Pickles are generally high in sodium; an ounce of commercially pickled onions has about 400 milligrams of sodium.
