Make Vegan Fried Onion Cream Sauce
Onions are not known for being “creamy”. Bright? Yes. Caustic? Certainly. Hurt? Sometimes. But not creamy. However, if you bake them in a hot oven for only about an hour, they will become so soft, juicy and completely creamy.
This vegan cream alternative that ChefSteps brought to the world (as far as I can tell) is not the kind of cream you need in coffee, but great for adding to soups, used as a base for dairy-free gravy, or added to casseroles. instead of cream. It is lighter than fatty dairy products, but surprisingly thick and tasty.
This is quite easy to do. Take a bow. Don’t clean them up. Brush them with a little olive oil. Place them in a 400-degree oven until the outside turns brown – 45 minutes to an hour (the insides of the onions may ooze). Take them out of the oven and let them cool until you can clean them without pain, then peel them and toss the soft, sticky insides into a blender with a little oil (to taste), salt (to taste) and lemon (too, shocking. taste). Whisk until smooth, creamy sauce.
White onions will do, but don’t limit yourself to them. A wide selection of onions and even shallots make a delicious cream-free cream. (I don’t think anyone will get mad if you toss a head of fried garlic in there.) Just keep in mind that the smaller the vegetable, the faster it will cook. You will know your onions are ready to beat when the outer paper is dark and a sharp knife can pierce it like soft butter.
When it comes to flavoring, ChefSteps recommends olive oil and lemon, but you can really add volume by cutting out the fat. Hazelnut and pistachio oils add a pleasant nutty richness, and toasted sesame oil really turns it into a soup, a savory and fried place. There are almost endless ways to customize this cream. Want something with a cheesy vibe? Add a bunch of nutritional yeast. Need a sauce that tastes like Pringles ? Add some MSG. Heck, you can even toss some of these bad guys in there for a vegan sausage gravy, or go the exact opposite route and sprinkle them on (non-vegan) fries. You have options, that’s what I’m talking about.