Sweet on spring onions

By Joyce White / Soul in the kitchen

I was literally crying with joy the other day when I spotted a pile of spring onions from Vidalia, Georgia piled up at the supermarket, the first of the season. I grabbed up a couple bunches and hurried on home, visions of good, healthy cooking on my mind. Health researchers say that onions contain quercetin, an antioxidant that helps prevent damage to cells and tissue, especially warding off heart disease and osteoporosis. Other major dietary sources of quercetin include tea and apples.

But I love onions because they add snap to soups and sandwiches, perk up plain rice and pasta, add crunch to potato salad, combine with okra and collard greens for boss flavor, and when roasted or steamed, make a nice topping for baked fish, salmon, chicken or pork. I also like onions sauteed with a little oil and a sprinkling of coriander seeds until brown and crispy and delicious.

Many varieties of onions are on their way now to cities and hamlets across country, primarily from Georgia, Texas, California, Arizona and Hawaii. Look for red, yellow and white varieties, bearing whimsical names such as Vidalia, Maui Sweet, Walla Walla. All delectable and sweet. The following recipes are adapted from my cookbook, "Soul Food."

Sippin'

I opened a bottle of Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais wine the other night to enjoy with the salmon and roasted spring onions, and it was a real good match. Beaujolais wine comes from the southern tip of France's famed Burgundy wine growing region, made from a grape called the Gamay. The expensive wines of Burgundy itself are made from the Pinot Noir grape. But I especially love Beaujolais wine, which is fruity, jammy and zesty with a delightful sappy flavor, offering cherries, raspberries, strawberries and currant flavors with aromatic peach, apricot and violet aromas. They are real versatile and match up perfectly with most food.

When buying, look for young vintages, such as the delightful 2003, and the equally delicious 2005 vintage, which should be crowding the market real soon. Right now I am enjoying the delicious Beaujolais Nouveau 2005, a real young or "new" wine, which was released last November shortly after it was fermented into wine. Cautious note: Since Beaujolais light in flavor, the wine tastes best after 15 or 20 minutes in the fridge or in an ice bucket with a few ice cubes, for a slight chill. In fact, I noticed a couple summers ago during a visit to France that when the weather is real hot, many restaurants in Paris serve Beaujolais wine right out of a bucket of iced water, really chilled.

No matter. Premier producers of Beaujolais wine are Georges Duboeuf and Louis Jadot, and both producers make good basic Beaujolais-Villages wine priced from $7.95 to $9.95, which can come from some 39 villages in the region. But they and other producers as well, also make Beaujolais wines from ten specific villages in the region that have lovely names and are a little higher in quality and price. They are: Saint Amour, Brouilly, Chenas, Cote de Brouilly, Chiroubles, Fleurie, Julienas, Morgon, Moulin-a-Vent and Regine, and the specific or village name is listed on the labels.

I particularly liked the Julienas 2003, the Chiroubles, and the Fleurie, which are on the lighter side, but the full flavored Morgon and Moulin-a-Vent remind me of a much higher priced Burgundy wine, and offer real good value. I didn't find the Regnie as charming as the other nine crus. But regardless of choice, you couldn't ask for a better value though, for these Beaujolais wines are in the $10 to $12 range. Good spring picking!

E-mail: Jwhitesoul@aol.com