Roasted Flower Onions: the delicious, impressive recipe for lotus flower onions

Together with carrots and potatoes, onions are humble vegetables often overlooked in the pantry. While they mostly feature as a base for a variety of dishes, they don’t often make a beautiful star dish. But that’s about to change. If you’re looking for an easy, impressive side dish or appetizer recipe, this recipe for Roasted Flower Onions is just what you need. Not only does it look beautiful on a plate, but it’s also cheap, as you only need inexpensive onions, oil, balsamic vinegar, and seasoning.

After drizzling the onions with the oil and balsamic vinegar mixture, they are baked until golden and cooked through. As the onions cook, the onion petals loosen to form the shape of a lotus flower. To make sure they come out this way and that they are tender, it’s important to cut them correctly—so don’t miss out our tips below!

Tips

To make a sweet and sour variation, mix together red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar, dark brown sugar, and olive oil. Drizzle over the onions before baking.

It’s important to cut the onion in the right way so you get the lotus-flower results. Cut from the top down, being careful not to cut all the way through. You should aim for about 12-16 sections. Once the onions are cooked, you can gently pull out sections of the onions to form separate petals.

For best results, use brown onions, yellow onions, red onions, or Vidalia onions.

Onions become naturally sweet while roasting, so there’s no need to add any extra sugar. For flavor, you can drizzle the onions with a bit of maple syrup or a mixture of Dijon mustard and honey.

How To Store Roasted Flower Onions

Store leftover roasted onions in an airtight container (or plastic bag), in the fridge, for up to 4 days.

You can also freeze roasted onions. Allow to cool completely, then place them on a baking tray, and freeze for a few hours. Once they are frozen, transfer to a sealable plastic bag, and freeze for up to 6 months. Allow to thaw at room temperature (or in the fridge if you’re thawing them overnight), and reheat in the microwave or oven.

How To Make Roasted Flower Onions

Cut the top end of the red onions. Make a cut in half without reaching the bottom end, make another cut in half again and repeat until you have four cuts. Repeat with the other onions.

Place the onions in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil.

Add the balsamic vinegar, mix, and let stand for 10 minutes.

Place the onions in an oven-safe baking dish, and drizzle with the oil mixture. Season with salt and pepper.

Bake for 30 minutes at 200°C/400°F. Remove the aluminum and return to the oven for 10 minutes.

Notes

To make these roasted onion flowers prettier (and tastier), sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese and dukkha before serving.