Ember-roasted onions are great on their own, mashed into sour cream, pureed into dips, or used in any number of other ways. They’re put to good use in this pretty salad, where the escarole is a supporting player to the onions, rather than vice versa. The escarole is sturdy enough that this salad can be made up to a couple hours in advance.
Serves 4
- 4 small unpeeled red onions
- 1 bunch thyme
- Juice of 2 limes (about 1/4 cup)
- 1/4 cup oil
- Salt, for seasoning
- 1 head escarole
- Honey, to taste
Place the onions in the embers and cook, turning occasionally, until they can be easily pierced with a sharp knife, about 30 minutes. Transfer with tongs to a bowl. When the onions are cool enough to handle, squeeze them from their skins, keeping any juices in the bowl, then separate into “petals.”
Onions roasting whole in the hot embers. Gentl and Hyers
Place the thyme over high heat just until charred and fragrant (this will only take a few seconds). Remove from the heat, strip the leaves from the stems, and add them to the bowl. Add the lime juice and oil and season with salt. Set aside.
Place the escarole over high heat and cook just until the edges are charred but the inside leaves are still crisp, about 1 minute per side. Remove from heat and tear the leaves roughly into the bowl. Toss the salad, add more salt and/or honey, if needed, and serve.
Recipe reprinted with permission from “The Outdoor Kitchen“ by Eric Werner, copyright 2020. Photographs by Gentl and Hyers. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Penguin Random House, Inc.
'The Outdoor Kitchen: Live-Fire Cooking From the Grill' by Eric Werner and Nils Bernstein (Ten Speed Press, $35).