All About Shallots

 

Cooking With Shallots

In the UK we tend to use shallots in casseroles and stews. They're certainly fantastic cooked this way but there are lots of other interesting ways of using them.

Raw
For a classic salad dressing put a chopped shallot in a screw top jar, add a pinch of salt, a teaspoon of Dijon mustard, a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, three tablespoons of olive oil and a twist of black pepper. Put the lid on tightly and shake together.

Try tossing chopped shallots together with lightly steamed French beans, flaked tuna halved cherry tomatoes and a light, lemon dressing for a delicious and healthy salad.

Sautéed
Use sautéed shallots as a base for sauces. Heat oil or butter to a medium heat in a non stick pan then add chopped shallots and sauté for a few minutes until they start to change colour. Be aware that the high sugar content of shallots can cause them to burn if the pan is too hot.

Stir Fried
Shallots have a lower water content than onions and produce a firmer and more pungent result when stir fried. Add a mixture of chopped shallots, chillies, ginger and coriander to your favourite stir fry ingredients.

Caramelised
Cooking shallots either chopped or whole in butter or oil over a low to medium heat will produce a wonderful caramelised result. Add a pinch of sugar ten minutes before serving for additional stickiness. Serve with steak or sausages.

Roasted
Peel whole shallots, place them on a shallow baking tray and drizzle over a mixture of runny honey and olive oil. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes and serve with roast or grilled meats.

Barbequed
Thread whole shallots on to skewers, alternating with pieces of marinated lamb and barbeque over hot coals.

 

 

Selecting, Storing & Preparing Shallots

Shallots are widely available in the UK in supermarkets, greengrocers and in farm shops. They are usually found near the onions and garlic.

When shopping for shallots, look for firm bulbs with crisp outer skins.

Shallots should be heavy for their size, not dry and light.

When the outer, brown skin is removed, the inner skin should be pink.

Shallots can be stored at home for several weeks - the salad box of the fridge is the ideal place for them. It's a good idea to keep shallots in a paper rather than a plastic bag so that the air can circulate.

Peeled shallots can be kept in the fridge for a week in an airtight box.

Like onions, shallots can make you cry when you chop them but there are several measures you can take to avoid tears!
Place shallots in the freezer for 30 minutes before chopping.
Peel shallots under running water.
Use a wet chopping board and a sharp knife.

Shallots can be tricky to peel, but not if you know how! Immerse shallots in boiling water for ten minutes as you would if you were peeling tomatoes and the skins will simply rub off.

To chop shallots, cut them in half from root to tip, then place the shallot, cut side down, on a chopping board. Make horizontal cuts toward the root, leaving the root intact. Then cut crosswise into pieces of desired fineness.

Chopped shallots may be frozen for up to three months. One defrosted they can be used as normal in sauces, stews and casseroles.

 

Shallots Are Not Just Small Onions!

Shallots are often thought to be another variety of onion, but although they are both members of the allium family, shallots are actually a species of their own

Shallots are sweeter than onions with a greater piquancy. Their higher sugar content means that they caramelise easily

Any recipe that calls for onion can be adapted to use shallots. Simply substitute four shallots for an onion and follow the recipe as normal.

Onions should not however be substituted for shallots Michel Roux Jr. explains why, "Shallots are more highly perfumed and have a more delicate flavour than onions - a world apart from large brown skinned onions which can be full of water."

Shallots grow in clusters, where separate bulbs are attached at the base and by loose skins. They have a tapered shape and a fine-textured, coppery skin, which differentiates them from onions

…are called scallions in the USA and spring onions in Australia. In fact the Australians call what we in the UK would call a spring onion a shallot!

The International Vegetable

Shallots are used in many international cuisines. French salad dressing, Boeuf Bourguignon and Coq au Vin; Thai soups, sates and curries; Indonesian Nasi Goreng; American Veal Stew; Italian risotto to name but a few

Shallots are used widely in Thai cookery; the Thai for shallot is How,How-lek,How-daeng. Thai cooks believe that shallots have therapeutic properties which alleviate stomach discomfort and act as antidiarrhoeal, expectorant, diuretic and antiflu agents

Shallots are also grown widely in Holland, Denmark, France, USA and South East Asia

A Word About Sulphur…

Shallots' legendary ability to bring tears to the eyes is caused by sulphur compounds absorbed from the soil. When a shallot is cut, these compounds disperse in the air and react with the saline solution in our eyes, creating a weak sulfuric acid that makes us 'cry'. Cutting shallots with a very sharp knife, on a wet board minimises this effect

The sulphur compounds which give shallots their pungent flavour have been subject to recent studies which suggest that these substances may be potent inhibitors of the cancer initiation process, especially for colorectal and stomach cancers.

 

History & Background of the Shallot

History

Shallots belong to the class of plants known as Liliaceae or Lillies which has more than 500 sub species. Other family members include tulips, hyacinths, aloe vera and asparagus.

Further down the family tree, Shallots are from the allium genus, part of the Alliaceae family, as are onions, garlic, leeks and chives.

Documentation on the ancient Egyptians, Romans and Hebrews (cited in the Bible's chapter of Numbers 11:5 ) shows that alliums have been cultivated for between 4,000 and 5,000 years.

The ancient Greeks gave shallots their name when their traders discovered them in the ancient Palestinian port of Ashkalon (now Ashkelon in Israel) and named them after the city.

Shallots were first introduced to Europe by the crusaders returning from the Middle East in the 11th century

The word shallot comes from the Old French escalogne from the Latin Ascalonia caepa (onion of Ascalon).

The Latin name for shallot is Allium cepa aggregatum and is also known as Allium ascalonicum which refers to the vegetable's origins in Ashkalon in the Middle East.

Other Uses

The plant also has plenty of non culinary uses.

Shallots, onions, garlic and aloe vera were used by the ancient Egyptians as important medicinal remedies.

Shallot or onion juice rubbed into the scalp is allegedly a remedy for baldness. It is also used as a cosmetic to get rid of freckles, as a cold remedy, for pain relief and as a mild diuretic.

The juice of the plant can be used as an insect repellent, as a rust preventative on metals and as a polish for copper and glass.

When the plant is growing it is said to repel insects and moles. A spray made by pouring enough boiling water to cover 1kg of chopped unpeeled onions is said to increase the resistance of other plants to diseases and parasites.

A yellow-brown dye is obtained from the skins of the bulbs.

Information courtesy of
http://www.ukshallot.com

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