Blooming Onions with Garlic and Herb Aioli
https://foodloversmarket.co.za/recipes/blooming-onions/
Step aside crispy onion rings, we’ve got a new kid blooming on the block…a whole onion battered and deep-fried, which then resembles an onion flower! Serve it with your favourite ‘secret’ dipping sauce and share it but pulling apart those “petal” layers and dipped in this homemade garlic & herb mayo (aioli).
We recommend buying the biggest onions you can find. It will make separating the layers easier and give you more shareable goodness. When pulling the slices apart don’t fret too much if some fall out.
Cooking Methods
- Frying
Serves
2Prep Time
10 minutesCooking Time
10 minutesIngredients
For the Blooming Onions:
- 2 large onions
- 250 ml (1 cup) flour
- 2 eggs, beaten
- Oil for frying
For the Garlic and Herb Aioli:
- 2 egg yolks
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 15 ml (1 Tbsp) wholegrain mustard
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 15 ml (1 Tbsp) white balsamic vinegar
- 500 ml (2 cups) canola oil
- Parsley, chopped
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
Directions
For the Blooming Onions:
- Peel the skin off and cut off the tip of the onions, so that it forms a base to stand on when placed on your chopping board with the core pointing upwards. Now start to make downward incisions at about 1 cm apart.
- Gently turn the onion around and separate the layers from each other. Dust the onion with flour, making sure you get in between all those layers.
- Now cover the onions in egg and repeat the process in the flour. Shake off any excess flour. Place the onion in the freezer to set slightly for about 30 minutes.
- Heat the oil for deep frying on a medium heat.
- Fry the onions for about 8-12 minutes or until browned and cooked. Remove from the oil and drain on kitchen paper.
- Serve the onions with the home-made garlic and herb aioli.
- Combine the egg yolks, garlic, mustard, lemon zest and white balsamic vinegar.
- Blend with a stick blender until smooth and slightly thickened.
- Add the oil in a very thin and steady stream while blending constantly to make sure the mayo emulsifies.
- Once thickened, add parsley and season with salt and black pepper to taste.
For the Garlic and Herb Aioli:
Notes
Do you have to deep-fry this onion?
No, you can try a baked/roasted or air-fried version of a blooming onion. Dip the onion in the egg wash, then dredge in breadcrumbs, salt & pepper, or almond flour, and baked until golden (about 18 – 20 minutes).
