Use sweet yellow onions for the best tasting bloom.
A blooming onion is a whole onion, pre-sliced in such a way that when fried, bits of onion separate to form a flower shape. Blooming onions taste similar to onion rings and are a delicious appetizer, good for parties and events. Learn a few simple steps and soon you`ll be serving up batches of blooming onion at special occasions.
Instructions
1. To prepare the blooming onion for frying, remove the skin and cut off the root top. Cut the onion down the middle, from the top almost to the bottom but not all the way through. Turn the onion so that your initial cut is horizontal and repeat. Continue cutting the onion like a pizza until you have 16 sections.
2. Fill a large heavy pot with enough vegetable oil or shortening to cover the onion and preheat on medium-high heat or to a temperature of 350 degrees. Never fill the pot more than halfway with oil as this might cause dangerous splatters.
3. Sprinkle a dry mixture of flour and spices over the onion, pulling gently at the onion 'petals' to coat thoroughly.
4. Submerge the onion in a batter of one cup of milk and two eggs, again coating all parts.
5. Sprinkle the onion one last time with the dry ingredients and place it on a slotted spoon before lowering gently into the hot oil.
6. Fry for 10 minutes, turning the onion regularly.
7. Remove the fried, bloomed onion and allow to cool before serving with dipping sauces.
Tags: blooming onion
