Roasted Red Onion Panzanella

Food Service Search Staff

INGREDIENTS:Roasted Red Onions:
9 medium red onions
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 ½ cups balsamic vinegar
as needed, kosher salt
as needed, freshly ground black pepper

Sherry Wine Vinaigrette:
½ cup sherry wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. shallots, minced
1 ½ cups extra virgin olive oil
6 loaves Italian-style bread
1 /2 cups extra virgin olive oil
1 ½ cups reduced poultry stock, hot
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme
3 quarts dandelion greens or arugula leaves
½ cup pine nuts
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved DIRECTIONS:For roasted red onions:
Cut unskinned onions lengthwise, through the roots, into sixths. Toss onions with olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Spread onions on sheet pan and roast in a 350°F oven for 25 minutes. Turn onions over and roast for an additional 20-25 minutes, or until onions are lightly browned on the outside and soft and creamy inside. Cool. When onions are cool, discard outer skin and cut off roots, allowing onion sections to fall apart into individual petals. Combine cooked onion with any residual cooking juices in a nonreactive bowl and set aside.

For sherry wine vinaigrette:
Combine vinegar and shallots in a nonreactive bowl. Allow to soak for 10 minutes. Whisk in olive oil a little at a time until emulsified.
Cut crusts off bread. Tear bread by hand into 1-inch pieces. Toss bread in a stainless steel bowl with olive oil. Spread on a sheet pan and bake in a 350°F oven for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

For each serving:
Place 1 ½ cups bread in a large stainless steel bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add about 1 ½ Tbsp. vinaigrette and 1 Tbsp. hot stock. Toss until bread absorbs the liquids. Combine bread with ¼ tsp. thyme, ½ cup greens, 1 tsp. pine nuts and 2 or 3 cherry tomato halves. Top with ½ cup roasted red onions. Serve immediately. SERVINGS:24 servings From:Chef/owner Craig Stoll, Delfina, San Francisco PHOTO CREDIT:Photo Credit: NATIONAL ONION ASSOCIATION