Five-Onion Gratin

This recipe combines every type of onion available at your average grocery, give or take an allium. The result is a creamy, sweet casserole with a tangy cheese crust. The interplay of the crunchy top and the sweet bottom isn’t unlike coffee cake, if that can be said about a dish with more than a pound of onions.

Ingredients

• 6 leeks (white and light green parts only), sliced
• 2 large onions, cut into eighths
• 8 shallots, halved
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pound bag frozen pearl onions
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 cups (1 pint) heavy cream
• 1 cup pecorino romano
• 1 cup feta
• fresh parsley

Tip: Wash leeks before and after you slice them. Their folds retain dirt like no other vegetable, and no one likes finding grit in their food.   

Preheat oven to 425°.

Melt butter on medium heat in a large skillet (I use a wok), adding leeks, large onions, shallots, and garlic. Sauté uncovered for about twenty minutes, until everything is tender. Add pearl onions and continue sautéing for 10 minutes. Stir in heavy cream, continue stirring for twenty minutes, or until thickened to a sauce-like consistency.

Pour into a medium-sized baking dish, then sprinkle feta evenly over mixture, repeating with pecorino romano. Bake on bottom rack for 20-30 minutes. Remove before cheese can burn.

The dish will seem a bit watery when removed from the oven, but once it begins to cool the sauce will firm. Chop up a few tablespoons of fresh parsley to sprinkle over every serving.

Tagged as: atkins, atkins induction, cassrole, cheese, heavy cream, low carb, onion, Recipes