Baked Blooming Vidalia Onion with Sweet Sriracha Sauce

Crikey! Baked blooming Vidalia onions are a healthy alternative to the restaurant version. Plus I can’t get enough of this sweet Sriracha sauce! We’re proud to tell you that this series is brought to you by the Vidalia Onion Committee. Vidalia Onions are available from late April through early September in grocery stores across the country. The season is short and sweet just like the delicious onions themselves, so make sure you look for them in your local retailer and learn more at www.vidaliaonion.org.

The blooming onion is a staple at the down under restaurant, Outback Steakhouse. However, did you realize that one of these bad boys can weigh you down with over 800 calories! That’s a lot of calories to burn snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef. (However, let’s face it, I would love to spend days snorkeling the reef).

Our baked version is not only healthier, it’s sweeter because we used Vidalia onions.

First, you take your sweet Vidalia onion and cut it into sections to get that blooming onion petal effect (see directions in the recipe below). Then you dip it in some beaten egg and sprinkle it with seasoned panko breadcrumbs.

To cook it, wrap it gently in aluminum foil and bake until fairly tender. Open up the foil and bake some more so that the panko crumbs get nice and toasty brown.

And let’s not forget our sweet chili and sriracha sauce. It’s creamy from a bit of mayonnaise, spicy from a blast of Sriracha and it has a hint of sweetness from the sweet chili sauce. Win win win.

Baked Blooming Vidalia Onion with Sweet Sriracha Sauce

Contributor: Lyndsay Burginger

Crikey! Baked blooming Vidalia onions are a healthy alternative to the restaurant version. Plus I can’t get enough of this sweet Sriracha sauce!

• Author: Christine Pittman
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 2 servings 1x

Print Recipe

Ingredients

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• 4 tsp. olive oil, divided
• 2 medium Vidalia onions
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 3/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs
• 1/2 tsp. salt plus a pinch more, divided
• 1/2 tsp. coarse black pepper
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tsp. sweet chili sauce
• 1 tsp. Sriracha Sauce
• 1/4 tsp. lemon juice

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
2. Tear off two 12” pieces of aluminium foil and place them side by side on a large baking sheet. Using ½ tsp. of the olive oil per piece, lightly oil the center of each.
3. Cut off top ½ inch (not the root) of an onion. Peel off the papery layer down to root (if paper layer is hard to get off, roll onion, pushing down with medium pressure, first). To remember as you proceed: All remaining cuts will end ½ inch above the root. With onion root-side-down, cut onion in half starting at top and moving knife down towards root, being sure to stop 1/2 inch above the root. Then make a second cut, also ending 1/2 inch above the root, that splits each half in two. This yields 4 quarters held together by the root. Repeat these cuts twice more, splitting the 4 quarters to yield eighths and then splitting again to yield sixteenths. Use fingers to gently pull apart layers of each sixteenth. Repeat with second onion.
4. In a medium bowl, mix eggs, milk and mustard. In a separate bowl, combine breadcrumbs, ½ teaspoon of salt, pepper and 3 teaspoons of olive oil. Mix until all breadcrumbs are moistened.
5. Put an onion root-side-up in egg mixture. Flip. Use a spoon to scoop egg amongst the petals. Flip and lift out onion, shaking off excess egg mixture. Place onion root-side-up in breadcrumbs. Press down lightly. Flip and sprinkle 2 tablespoons of breadcrumbs in among the petals.
6. Place onion on a piece of foil. Repeat with second onion, placing it on second piece of foil when done.
7. Bring the foil up gently around each onions so that breadcrumbs are not dislodged. Seal foil completely over tops of onions.
8. Bake onions for 15 minutes. Unwrap foil and push it down towards pan and bake the onion uncovered the remaining time. Bake until breadcrumbs are mostly well-browned and even slightly blackened on one or two petals, approximately 14-17 minutes.
9. Meanwhile, combine the mayonnaise, sweet chili sauce, Sriracha, lemon juice and a pinch of salt in a small bowl. Refrigerate until ready to serve with the hot blooming Vidalia onions.

Disclosure: This article is sponsored by the Vidalia Onion Committee. All opinions are ours and honest.