Ohhh - Onion OOOOs

There's a saying "Make hay while the sun shines", well the sun has been shining lots this week! With temperatures above 100 degrees I'm glad I'm in the kitchen making lunch, not in the hayfield. So with a bit of this guilty feeling, I looked for some good ideas for lunch for those who were in the hayfield. A new beef sandwich recipe (a later blog), fresh tomatoes, corn on the cob, fruit cobbler (blog from Feb. 13) - and Oven Fried Onion Rings.
I had just purchased a bag of Vidalia Onions at the store, and wanted a special way to use them. Vidalia onions are unusually sweet, due to the soil in the area of Georgia where they are grown. That area is a legally defined area of 13 counties and portions of 7 more. They are only available in our area in season, so they are a special treat when found. There's even an annual Vidalia Onion Festival, and this is Georgia's official State Vegetable.
The recipe is from the Food Network and easy to do, a bit of a mess but worth it. I prepared half of the ingredients and 1 1/2 onions for a generous 3 servings. Even if you're preparing a full or larger amount, I would prepare the dipping bowls, at least the panko breadcrumbs, in smaller batches, mine got pretty messed up at the end! Also, I sliced the onions very thin, about 1/3 inch - I have a great tool for holding the onion for slicing from Pampered Chef - it looks like a hair pick! With slices that thin they didn't need to be turned. This recipe makes a very crunchy onion ring - much better than the fast-food deep-fried varieties!

Oven Fried Onion Rings

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

3 teaspoons salt (divided)

2 cups buttermilk

4 eggs

3 cups panko breadcrumbs

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 large yellow sweet onions, cut into ¼ - ½ -inch slices

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Placed parchment paper on 2 baking sheets and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine flour, paprika, and 1 ½ tsp. salt. In another bowl or shallow dish, whisk together buttermilk and eggs. Add half of the flour mixture to the buttermilk and beat until smooth and thickened.

In a separate bowl, combine the panko, olive oil and remaining 1 ½ tsp. salt.

Light dredge the onion rings in the flour mixture and then drop into the buttermilk. Drain the excess batter and then dredge in the panko mixture.

Arrange on the prepared baking sheets in a single layer. Place in oven and bake until golden brown 14-12 minutes. Halfway through the cooking time, flip over each onion ring to ensure even crisping and browning (think slices may not need to be flipped) 

3 steps of dipping - messy but worth it!

Ready to go into the oven