Ever read a recipe and think, what a completely unnecessary ingredient choice?

heather_in_sf

Well-known member
Today's Epicurious recipe from Masterchefs got to me somehow today. The recipe sounds really nice, a salad of wild mushrooms, beets and goat cheese with an onion puree. But they used cipollini onions for the puree. Why???? The true charm of a cipollini is their little flat shape, great for spreading around a roast beef or chicken, usually always served whole. They're expensive and sometimes hard to find so just what is the point of cooking them down and pureeing them for a sauce? Any sweet onion would be cheaper, easier to peel and use. It's really annoying me and I think I need some chocolate or something....

Wild Mushroom, Roasted Beet, and Goat Cheese Salad with Onion Purée

Makes 4 servings

This is a winning-contestant recipe from Season Four of FOX's MasterChef.

For the onion purée:

1 tablespoon olive oil

5 cipollini onions, peeled and cut into quarters

1/2 medium shallot, minced

Salt

5 tablespoons heavy cream

For the mushrooms:

3 tablespoons walnut oil

2 ounces fresh chanterelle mushrooms, cleaned and trimmed

2 ounces fresh black trumpet mushrooms, cleaned and trimmed

2 ounces fresh royal trumpet mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed, and cut into quarters

4 sprigs fresh sage

Salt

For the roasted beets:

8 medium red beets, trimmed and scrubbed

8 medium golden beets, trimmed and scrubbed

1/4 cup olive oil

Zest and juice of 1 Meyer lemon

2 tablespoons minced fresh chives

Salt

For the pumpkin seeds:

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

2 tablespoons walnut oil

Salt

For the English peas:

20 English peas, shelled

Salt

1/4 cup goat cheese

Make the onion purée:

In a medium sauté pan over moderate heat, warm the oil. Add the onions and shallot and sauté, stirring occasionally, until soft. Season with salt, add the heavy cream, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Transfer the onion mixture to a food processor or blender and process until smooth.

Make the mushrooms:

In a medium sauté pan over high heat, warm the walnut oil. Add the mushrooms, in batches if necessary, and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the liquid released by the mushrooms is evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add the sage, season with salt, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are golden and tender.

Roast the beets:

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Arrange the beets in a large, deep baking dish and drizzle with the oil. Add enough water to reach about 1/4 inch up the sides of the baking dish. Cover with foil and roast until the beets are tender, about 45 minutes. Once the beets are cool enough to handle, peel them and cut them into quarters. Transfer the beets to a medium bowl, add lemon zest, lemon juice, and chives, season with salt, and toss to combine.

Toast the pumpkin seeds:

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Arrange the pumpkin seeds on a large, rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with walnut oil, and toss to combine. Roast until toasted, about 10 minutes, then toss with salt.

Cook the peas:

Fill a large bowl with ice water.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, blanch the peas until just tender. Drain, then immediately plunge the peas into the ice water to stop cooking. Drain the peas again and pat them dry.

To serve:

In a large bowl combine the mushrooms, beets, peas, goat cheese, and onion purée and toss to combine. Divide the salad among 4 plates, sprinkle with toasted pumpkin seeds, and serve.

From MasterChef, © © 2013 FOX

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Wild-Mushroom-Roasted-Beet-and-Goat-Cheese-Salad-with-Onion-Puree-51181400?mbid=rotdNL&spMailingID=5612272&spUserID=MzcxMzk0NjEyMzIS1&spJobID=327570320&spReportId=MzI3NTcwMzIwS0

 
I have a question regarding cipollini--as a child, my dad would fry a batch of those flat..

little cippolini.

They were extremely bitter--not like a pearl onion in the least.

I'm wondering if they have been tamed thru a genetic process.

 
Have you ever read a book a chef has written...his story and how he grows and finally gets his own

restaurant? They constantly strive to make complicated recipes, extreme recipes in fact. I am reading about Grant Achatz now...amazing how they find even wild foods to puree, turn into foam, or some outlandish method to charge big bucks for.

 
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