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Recipes for winter salads with browned onions

Adding warm, seasonal flavor to romaine, spinach, and green bean dishes.

Romaine spears with browned onions, olives, and anchovy vinaigrette. Photograph by Jim Scherer / Styling by Catrine Kelty

As an ingredient in salads of every stripe, raw onions offer crunch and a telltale pungent bite. Cook those onions until the pieces brown around the edges, though, and that sharpness gives way to a slightly sweet warmth and depth that’s especially welcome in midwinter fare. It takes careful attention to cook the pieces until they are good and browned — just shy of burnt at the edges — but the time commitment is a fraction of that for fully caramelized onions and yields a sweet, full-flavored counterpoint to pungent olives and anchovies with romaine spears, bright grape tomatoes and hearty tortellini, and tender-crisp green beans with rich, toasty hazelnuts.

Romaine Spears With Browned Onions, Olives, and Anchovy Vinaigrette

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Serves 4

The flavor combination of cooked onions, olives, and anchovies is borrowed from pissaladiere, a Provencal pizza featuring those ingredients.

5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 medium onions, diced large (¾- to 1-inch pieces)

Salt and pepper

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

2 teaspoons minced anchovy fillets (about 6, preferably oil-packed)

1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 large romaine lettuce hearts, stem ends trimmed and quartered lengthwise

½ cup (about 2 ounces) pitted Kalamata olives, roughly chopped

1/3 cup torn fresh Italian parsley leaves

In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon oil until shimmering. Add the onions and ½ teaspoon salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they soften, about 7 minutes. Adjust the heat to medium and continue cooking, stirring more frequently to prevent the onions from scorching, until the pieces are brown around the edges, 6 to 10 minutes longer. Scrape the onions into a bowl (you should have about 1 generous cup) and set aside to cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk the lemon juice, vinegar, anchovy, thyme, mustard, ¼ teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste. Vigorously whisk in the remaining oil. Taste and adjust the seasoning with additional salt and pepper if necessary.

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Arrange the romaine spears attractively on a serving platter, pour about three-quarters of the vinaigrette over the romaine, and, using tongs, gently tumble them to coat with dressing. Add the browned onions, olives, and parsley to the remaining dressing and toss to coat. Distribute the dressed onion mixture evenly over the lettuce and serve at once.

TIP: Go big or go home. To give the onions suitable presence in these dishes, cut them into large ¾-inch to 1-inch dice.Photograph by Jim Scherer / Styling by Catrine Kelty

Tortellini Salad With Browned Onions and Spinach

Makes about 9 cups

Dried tortellini tends to come in 1-pound packages, whereas supermarket-style fresh tortellini sometimes comes in 20-ounce packages.

Salt and pepper

1 to 1 ¼ pounds tortellini

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 medium onions, diced large (¾- to 1-inch pieces)

1 tablespoon juice plus 1 teaspoon finely grated zest from 1 lemon

2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon minced or grated garlic (about 1 medium clove)

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

1½ cups cherry or grape tomatoes, halved (or quartered if large)

6 cups (loosely packed) fresh baby spinach leaves (about 3 ounces)

Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. In a large pot over high heat, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon salt and the tortellini, and cook according to package directions until al dente. Drain the tortellini, place it in a large bowl, add 1 tablespoon oil, and toss to coat. Immediately spread the oiled tortellini in a wide, even layer on the prepared baking sheet and set aside to cool to room temperature (keep the bowl handy for use later).

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Meanwhile, in a medium skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon oil until shimmering. Add the onions and ½ teaspoon salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they soften, about 7 minutes. Adjust the heat to medium and continue cooking, stirring more frequently to prevent the onions from scorching, until the pieces are brown around the edges, 6 to 10 minutes longer. Scrape the onions into a bowl (you should have about 1 generous cup) and set aside to cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, in the bowl used earlier for the tortellini, whisk the lemon juice and zest, vinegar, garlic, mustard, ½ teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste. Vigorously whisk in the remaining oil.

Add the cooled tortellini, onions, and tomatoes, and toss gently to coat. Add the spinach and toss to coat. Taste and adjust the seasoning with additional salt and pepper if necessary. Scrape the salad into a serving bowl and serve at once.

Green Beans With Browned Onions and Hazelnut Vinaigrette

Makes about 8 cups

5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 medium onions, diced large (¾- to 1-inch pieces)

Salt and pepper

1½ tablespoons sherry vinegar

1 teaspoon minced or grated garlic (about 1 medium clove)

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

½ cup hazelnuts, lightly toasted, skinned, and finely chopped

2 pounds haricots verts or green beans (ends trimmed, and each bean halved for the latter)

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In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon oil until shimmering. Add the onions and ½ teaspoon salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they soften, about 7 minutes. Adjust the heat to medium and continue cooking, stirring more frequently to prevent the onions from scorching, until pieces are brown around the edges, 6 to 10 minutes longer. Scrape the onions into a bowl (you should have about 1 generous cup) and set aside to cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the vinegar, garlic, mustard, ½ teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste. Vigorously whisk in the remaining oil. Add the hazelnuts and mix to combine.

Place a colander in the sink, fill a large bowl with ice water and set aside, and bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot over high heat. When the water boils, add 1 tablespoon salt and the beans, and cook beans until tender-crisp, 3 to 5 minutes (depending on the thickness and age of the beans). Drain the beans and immediately dump them into ice water to stop the cooking. Drain the beans again and dry them with a kitchen towel. Add the beans and browned onions to the bowl with the dressing and toss to combine. Taste and adjust the seasoning with additional salt and pepper if necessary and serve.


Adam Ried appears regularly on “America’s Test Kitchen.” Send comments to cooking@globe.com.