Every week, kilos of peelings end up in the trash. What if you stopped throwing away onion skins? Dry and tough, they seem useless in cooking. However, they can still flavor your dishes and even be transformed into a homemade condiment. The Marmiton website reveals several simple ways to give them a second life.
How to prepare onion skins before cooking?
Before using them, some precautions are necessary. The Marmiton website recommends favoring onions from organic farming or grown without pesticides. You should also remove any peel showing traces of mold.
Only keep the husks dry and clean, without soft or damaged parts. This step is important: the peels will then be infused, reduced to powder or directly incorporated into your preparations.
You must then dry them well. The Marmiton website recommends putting them in the oven for a few minutes at 100°C. Other experts recommend longer cooking, always at 100°C, for 30 to 40 minutes.
If you’re in a hurry, another microwave method might work, in one-minute increments.
Onion peel powder: a perfect condiment to spice up your dishes
Once the peels are completely dry, they can be transformed into powder. Orléans Métropole recommends mixing them very finely. You then obtain a sort of homemade spice, with a slightly smoky scent.
To preserve it, the organization recommends placing it in an airtight container, protected from humidity, and consuming it within a month in order to preserve its aromas.
This powder can then be used very easily on a daily basis. In a broth, a vegetable soup or a sauce, it strengthens the taste in a few pinches. The Trucmania website also suggests sprinkling it directly on pasta or adding it to a marinade.
Its little extra? It brings a more complex onion flavor and a pretty amber tint, without using an industrial cube.
Broth, breadcrumbs, bread dough: three ways to recycle them
Finally, it is also possible to use the whole peels. The Marmiton website recommends adding them to the cooking water for a broth or soup, then filtering the preparation.
The site also suggests preparing a hot infusion made from onion peels, especially after hearty meals. You will thus be able to benefit from the natural presence of antioxidants in the peels.
Finally, once reduced to powder, they can find their place in homemade breadcrumbs. The Marmiton website suggests using them to add more flavor to meat breadings or nuggets.
Another possibility: incorporate a small quantity into bread or pizza dough. The peels then bring a slight amber tint and a more pronounced flavor to your preparations.
A simple way to no longer consider onion peels as simple waste… but as a real ingredient in the kitchen!