Jamaican Oven Roasted Onions

 

2 pounds small white pearl onions
Pinch turmeric
Olive oil
Salt to taste
Pinch pepper
Pinch paprika

Blanch onions in boiling water 4-5 minutes to facilitate peeling skins. Cut off root end of

each onion, squeezing onion core from outer peel – the core will pop out. Drain onions

and dry. In a bowl, add onions a little olive oil until the onions are coated with a thin film

of oil. Add salt, pepper, a pinch of paprika for color and a pinch of ground tumeric1. Toss

in bowl. Onions should be yellow. (Add Tumeric as required for color.)

Bake in an open pan or shallow glass dish in a hot (375 F) oven, turning several times

(5~10 minutes) to insure even browning.

These yellow onions go well with many meals and add an unusual bit of color.

 

Note:

1. Turmeric is the dried root of a plant similar in size and related to ginger. Its flavor

is woody and earthy. India is the primary exporter of turmeric, although Peru,

Haiti, and Jamaica are additional sources. It thrives in hot, moist, tropical climates

with well-drained soil.

 

The use of turmeric as a coloring agent for food and fabric dates as far back as

600 B.C. Marco Polo, in 1280, mentioned turmeric in notes of his travels in

China: "There is also a vegetable that has all the properties of true saffron, as well

as the smell and the color, and yet it is not really saffron." In medieval Europe,

turmeric was known as "Indian saffron." Since then, turmeric has been used as an

inexpensive substitute for saffron. Saffron is the world’s most expensive spice

hence an affordable alternative is welcomed. That being said, turmeric is not in

taste, an alternative to saffron only its color and a little bit goes along way.

 

Aji amarillo is a hot Peruvian pepper that alo colors food yellow.