Onion puree can be made by boiling onions and processing them, or by cooking them with spices and pureeing them. It can be used as a spice, seasoning, side dish, or main meal. Raw onion puree can be made by blending raw onions with liquid. Variations include adding other flavors or cooking methods. It can be stored in frozen cubes or blocks.
Onion puree is made by processing or mashing onions into a paste or thick soup. The methods used to make onion puree range from very simple, where the onions are boiled and then passed through a food processor, to very complex, with the onions and additional spices cooked for hours before finally being pureed. Complete onion puree can be used as a spice in cooking, as a seasoning for meats, as a side dish or can be converted into a main meal resembling a soup or stew. In some types of Asian cuisine, including Indian cuisine, onion puree is often used because it has very little texture and can be quickly browned in a pan once pureed. One way to store onion puree is to combine it with garlic or a garlic-ginger mixture and form it into frozen cubes or blocks for later use.
You don’t need to cook all of the onion puree before running it through a blender, mortar and pestle, or food mill. Raw onions can be cut into small pieces and combined with some type of liquid—water, white wine, or olive oil are common—and then processed into a smooth paste. Puree made from raw onions is very pungent but can caramelize quickly in a hot pan. In this form, the puree freezes and refrigerates easily for storage.
A more flavorful type of onion puree can be made by combining onions with black pepper, basil, thyme, rosemary, fennel, and salt in a heavy-bottomed pan. Sometimes white wine, vinegar, beef broth, garlic, cloves and red pepper flakes are also added. Usually the ingredients are sauteed in butter until aromatic, after which some water or other liquids are added. The whole mixture is left to simmer for several hours, so the flavors meld, the onions become as soft as possible, and most of the liquid has reduced. Once complete, the mixture is pureed and, depending on the ingredients and desired consistency, may be poured through a sieve to remove larger particles.
Variations of the onion puree use related flavors to complement the flavor of the onion; these include shallots, garlic and green onions. Onions can also be smoked, grilled, caramelized or roasted before being cooked and pureed to achieve a different overall taste for the dish. The puree can be made very creamy by adding some type of thickener, such as cornstarch, cornmeal, heavy cream, or cooked flour and butter.
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