Ingredients
Dipping Sauce:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon ketchup
2 tablespoons cream-style horseradish sauce
1/3 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
1 pinch ground black pepper
1/3 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Blooming Onion:
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/3 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
1 large sweet onion
3/4 cup vegetable oil for frying
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Preparation
- To make sauce: In a medium bowl, combine mayonnaise,
ketchup, horseradish, 1/3 teaspoon paprika, 1/4 teaspoon
salt, 1/8 teaspoon oregano, a dash ground black pepper
and cayenne pepper; mix well. Keep sauce covered in
refrigerator until needed.
- To make the batter: In a medium bowl, beat egg
and add milk. In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt,
cayenne pepper, paprika, ground black pepper, oregano,
thyme and cumin; mix.
- To slice onion: slice 1 inch off of the top
and bottom of the onion and remove the papery skin. Use
a thin knife to cut a 1 inch diameter core out of the
middle of the onion. Now use a very sharp, large knife
to slice the onion several times down the center to
create 'petals': First slice through the center of the
onion to about three-fourths of the way down. Turn the
onion 90 degrees and slice it again in an X across the
first slice. Keep slicing the sections in half, very
carefully until the onion has been cut 16 times. Do not
cut down to the bottom of the onion. (The last 8 slices
will be difficult, be careful).
- Spread the 'petals' of the onion apart. To
help keep them separate you could plunge the onion into
boiling water for 1 minute and then into cold water.
- Dip the onion into the milk mixture and then
coat it liberally with the flour mixture. Again separate
the petals and sprinkle the dry coating between them.
Once you're sure the onion is well-coated, dip it back
into the wet mixture and into the dry coating again.
This double-dipping ensures you have a well-coated onion
because some of the coating will wash off when you fry
the onion.
- Heat oil in a deep fryer or deep pot to 350
degrees F (175 degrees C). Make sure you use enough oil
to completely cover the onion when it fries.
- Fry the onion right side up in the oil for 10
minutes or until it turns brown. When the onion has
browned, remove it from the oil and let it drain on a
rack or paper towels. Open the onion wider from the
center so that you can put a small dish of the dipping
sauce in the center.
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