For a long time, shallots just confused us. They look like garlic but taste like sweet onions, and they're finicky to peel on top of everything else! Why would we want to cook with them?
Shallots have actually become our top choice for most preparations calling for raw onions. They are sweeter and more mild than either yellow or red onions, and have a pleasant crispness in salad dressings and grain salads.
We also think shallots are a great choice if you're trying to convince onion-haters to give alliums a try. They add just the right amount of subtle pungency to dishes without as much of that overpowering onion flavor that turns some people off. Also, gently cooked shallots become as sweet as candy and are a revelation to people who've never had them before!
Shallots are also quite handy for when we only want a few tablespoons of onion for our dish. Because shallots grow in cloves, it's easy to break off just what we need, and the other cloves will still keep for several weeks. Plus, the thin layers of a shallot mean that mincing is a piece of cake!
Here are a few of our favorite shallot recipes:
• Chicken with Shallot-Apricot Sauce
• Fennel, Orange, and Shallot Salad
• Shallot Tarte Tatin
• Lemon-Marinated Brussels Sprouts with Parsley and Shallots
• Radishes Braised with Shallots and Vinegar
What are you favorite ways to use shallots?
Related: How to Mince Garlic
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I first used raw shallots in a warm chickpea salad from Orangette (by way of a few other folks) and it's just wonderful - as you said, mild but still nice and oniony.
I love pork chops with shallots and a balsamic vinaigrette reduction. Seriously, I lick the pan when I'm done.
My favorite is shallot crisps atop green beans - recipe here:
http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/10725 It has an incredibly tangy sauce of dijon and maple syrup. . . sounds weird, but it's great. I make this for Thanksgiving sometimes.
My favorite ingredient in my kitchen! I use them all the time and cannot imagine cooking without them - vinaigrettes, thai cooking, curries, salads, etc. Plus, as you say, they are good when you don't want a whole huge yellow onion, but only need a small amount.
Yeah, raw onions and garlic give myself and everyone else in my family awful heartburn and so shallots are a milder alternative.
Like DCarl1 and OM83, one of my fav things to do with them is to put them atop curries and especially cold Thai salads (eggplant salad or laarb)--and I love the little containers of fried ones you can buy at Asian stores! So time saving, especially since I hate frying anything myself.
My husband is not an onion fan, so I use the shallots as a substitute to give me the onion flavor I like but keep it toned down for him. I'm with Forthright - chops shallots balsamic=perfection.
I've been curious to try shallots because they seem closer to garlic than onion. I can't eat onions, there's something in the oils that I can't digest and it makes me really ill, but oddly garlic doesn't do that to me, so I've been toying with the idea of giving shallots (and leeks) a try, but the prospect of serious digestive discomfort for a weekend if they don't work out always puts me off. No guts, no glory I guess.
Do shallots have the same tear-inducing properties that onions do? If not, they seem perfect for me because I cook for 1 and onions make me bawl!
Love shallots. The America's test kitchen recipe for roasted broccoli with shallots and fennel seeds is a must try.
I first had shallots when I studied abroad in France, and I pretty much fell in love with them. I'm not a huge onion fan, so they're perfect for me!
Any dish that straddles the sweet/savory continuum is a perfect foil for shallots (any savory applications that feature sweet potatoes or winter squashes, goat cheese, dried or fresh fruit, and as many people have noted, curries). If you’re cooking Malaysian, you gotta get lots of shallots.
Shallots are also great used in any dish with mushrooms and really brings out the flavor of wild mushrooms.
I love shallots and they’re a staple in our pantry just as they were in my mom’s kitchen. I didn’t know they were confusing and thought they were a staple for all cooks! Guess I was wrong!
@ percent: shallots often make me tear up more than even cutting onions…so beware. at least they’re smaller so it’s over quicker.
In Kitchen Confidential Bourdain says that one of the main differences between restaurants and the home cook is shallots. I wish I could use them more often but they're just too pricey for me. I can usually get a whole bag of onions for $1. But if I'm feeling up for it and if they're a must in a recipe then I'll buy a couple of shallots.
Shallots make me cry FOR SURE! I always have to wear my old swimming goggles when I chop shallots or onions. Don't take them off until they are cooking in the pan! The shallots, not the goggles.
@ graciela
Shallots are really cheap at (East) Asian grocery stores because we use them (and a lot of them) in so many dishes. Indian grocery stores also sell them at a good price too. Maybe check into where your local Asian population does their shopping.
Love shallots they are much sweeter than onions for sure!
slow lorus- I'm gonna go to the asian market and see if they are cheaper there! thanks for the tip