Shallot

A shallot is a small onion that grows in clusters of bulbs, like garlic, with coppery or pink skin and purple-tinged flesh. It tastes sweeter and milder than a regular onion, with a hint of garlic. It melts into sauces when cooked and is gentle enough to eat raw in dressings. It is central to French cooking, as well as Southeast Asian dishes, where it is often fried until crisp.

How to do it

To mince a shallot:

1. Cut off the top, peel, and split it into its cloves if it has more than one.
2. Cut each piece in half through the root.
3. Lay it flat, make thin cuts toward the root without cutting through it, then one or two cuts across.
4. Slice across the cuts to get fine, even pieces.

To sweat it, cook it gently in butter over low heat for 3 to 5 minutes until soft and translucent, not browned.

How to use it

Most English-speaking countries say shallot, but there are a few traps:

• Shallot in the US, UK and most of Canada.
• Eschalot in parts of Australia, because in New South Wales "shallot" often means a spring onion (scallion). Check the recipe's origin.
• Banana shallot, sold in the UK, is a long shallot, also called echalion. It is a cross with an onion and is easier to peel. One banana shallot is about two round ones.
• Échalote in France and schalottenlök in Sweden.

One medium shallot weighs about 30 to 40 g and gives about 2 to 3 tablespoons minced. Raw, it gives a sharp vinaigrette its bite. Cooked, it is the base of béarnaise and beurre blanc.

For a milder raw taste in a vinaigrette, soak minced shallot in the vinegar for 10 minutes before you add the oil.

Substitutes

Use the same weight of yellow or red onion, or the white part of scallions. The flavor is sharper and less sweet, so mince it finely, and use a little less when it is raw. A small yellow onion, about 100 g (3½ oz), is roughly three shallots.

How to store it

Keep shallots in a cool, dry, dark place with air around them, not in the fridge. They keep for a month or more.

Common mistakes

• Browning them hard when a recipe says to soften them. Burnt shallots taste bitter.
• Using a whole cluster when the recipe meant one bulb.

In recipes

You will see "1 shallot, finely minced", "2 banana shallots, sliced" and "crispy fried shallots" as a topping.