It's Onion Day! Today is the Bern Onion Market held every 4th Monday of November in Bern, Switzerland. More than 50 tonnes of onions will be brought into market today, many woven into artistic plaits. This market and folk fair is a popular tourist destination, and many different foods featuring onions are served at the market today. Zorra at Kochtof is hosting the Onion day posting round-up.

Since I'm an onion fan I just had to participate. Onions are not only tasty, but healthy. Since the World's Healthiest Foods does such a good job of describing the benefits, I suggest a look at their writing on onions. I was especially impressed with onions' contribution to bone health, who would have guessed?

For this event I've cooked Three Onion Saute. The onions are paired with cool weather fall vegetables. This could easily be made vegan by using tempeh strips instead of the turkey bacon. You could also use regular bacon, but you'll want to fry it separately and pour off some of the fat (or not!) before adding. The recipe is below in words and photos. Oh, and it makes quite a bit so invite your friends over for a healthy feast! Enjoy!




Three Onion Saute

1 red onion
1 yellow onion
2 cipolline onions
3 parsnips
2 large stalks broccoli (about 3 cups florets)
12 oz low-fat turkey bacon (1 package)
3 T olive oil



1. Gather your vegetables. Arranging for photo-op on deck optional. If you DO arrange your vegetables precariously on your deck railing - beware - the parsnips slide off easily. This recipe would have had 4 parsnips had one not fallen off into the neighbor's bushes, jostled by the cipolline onion. Actually, 4 parsnips would probably balance the recipe better, so feel free. But I only had 3 to use since the bush was rather bushy and I didn't fancy crawling around and through it to retrieve the missing parsnip. Who knows, maybe next fall I'll have all the parsnip volunteers I can use? (I shudder to think of my neighbor's reaction however, tromping in front of her deck to harvest them).

2. Wash and prepare the vegetables. Peel and slice onions in ring quarters. Cut broccoli into flowerettes. Peel and slice parsnips in rounds. Slice turkey bacon in smallish pieces.



3. Pour 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large saute pan, add onions and saute over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Keep sauteing until onions are moist and limp.



4. Add the turkey bacon and continue to saute. The longer the onions saute, the sweeter and more concentrated their flavors get.



5. Next add the parsnips. Continue sauteing until the parsnips are nearly tender.



6. Finally, add the broccoli and saute until the broccoli reaches your desired level of doneness. I like mine with a little crispness left in, but still cooked. The turkey ham added enough salt, so I didn't add any. However, you'll want to test and salt & pepper to your taste. I didn't add any other flavorings as I wanted the sweetness of the onion to come through without adornment.

For those of you thinking of eating local, the red and yellow onions were organic and from Bakersfield, CA; the organic cippolline onions were from Hollister, CA; the organic broccoli and parsnips were from Salinas, CA. The olive oil was also from Oroville, California, but alas, the turkey bacon was not identified as to origin, but likely somewhere in the mid-west where Kraft has its headquarters (said somewhere in IL). If one were trying to eat within 100 miles, well the only place on that list within 100 miles of my house is Salinas.

Your final dish will look somewhat like the first photo, but more volume as I only spooned a bit onto the serving dish. This recipe makes a copious amount.