My recent visit to The Falls Farm saw me come home with a bunch of fabulous pom pom-like red creole onion flowers. I though they would be magnificent in a vase… and then I was told that you could actually eat them, so after a call out on Instagram, Cameron Matthews, from The Long Apron, suggested to make tempura onion flowers  by coating them in tempura batter and deep frying them. Being a Saturday afternoon and in need of a snack, I thought it was a great idea.

Normally I would use soda water, but the coldest and closest thing to soda water that I had in the fridge was a beer, so I used that instead #donttellmyhusband

What a great snack… a quirky take on beer battered onion rings… the flowers are delicious. Who would have thought? Oh… and you will need an extra beer to complete the snack experience… They are pretty filling so you will need maximum two per person, though one is probably enough… tempura some other vegies while you are at it.

The red creole onions are in flower now and if you are lucky you might be able to get some at the Witta markets from The Falls Farm stall. If you decided that you don’t want to eat them, they look fabulous in a vase, but be prepared… they do have an onion fragrance!

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Ingredients

Onion flowers – one or two each with stalks trimmed to 5 cm

¾ cup plain flour

¼ cup cornflour

1 egg

1 cup icy cold beer

extra flour

oil for deep frying

 

Sift flours into a bowl and make a well in the centre. Lightly whisk egg in a separate bowl and place into the flour along with the icy cold beer and whisk until combined – don’t over whisk. Place in the fridge to rest for 10 minutes.

In a deep saucepan heat oil. When oil is hot enough dust the onion flowers with extra flour and dip in tempura batter coating lightly. Place into hot oil and deep fry until lightly golden, turning to get even coverage

When golden remove from oil and place on absorbent paper to drain off any excess oil.

Sprinkle with salt and munch away…

Recipe by Petra Frieser – Pebbles + Pomegranate Seeds