Vegan Blooming Onion (Convection Oven Version)
Ingredients
For the onion:
– Large Onion: 1
– Ice-cold water
– Plant-based milk (e.g., soy, almond, or oat milk): 50 ml / 1.7 fl oz
– Chickpea flour or aquafaba (the liquid from a can of chickpeas): 3 tbsp (to replace the egg)
– Flour: 100 g / 3.5 oz
– Black pepper: 1/4 teaspoon
– Sweet paprika: 1 teaspoon
– Salt: 1 teaspoon
– Breadcrumbs
– Seed oil (for drizzling or spraying)
Directions
1. Prepare the onion:
– Peel and cut the top off the onion. Place the cut-end down into the lip of a jar.
– Cut 8–12 vertical slices into the onion to create ‘leaves.’ Carefully fan out the onion leaves.
– Place the fanned-out onion into a bowl of ice water and let it sit for at least 2 hours to make the onion more digestible.
2. Prepare the batter and coating:
– In a small bowl, mix chickpea flour with 3 tbsp of water to make a thick batter, or – whisk aquafaba (chickpea liquid) until frothy.
– Add plant-based milk to the chickpea mixture and whisk until combined.
– On a plate, mix flour, sweet paprika, black pepper, and salt.
3. Coat the onion:
– Remove the onion from the water and gently squeeze to remove excess moisture.
– Place the onion base-down onto a plate and sprinkle with the flour mixture, ensuring to coat all sides and between the leaves thoroughly. Shake off excess flour.
– Dredge the onion in the chickpea mixture or aquafaba, making sure all parts are covered.
– Sprinkle breadcrumbs generously over the onion, ensuring even coverage.
4. Bake the onion:
– Preheat your convection oven to 200°C / 392°F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper or lightly grease it with oil.
– Place the coated onion on the prepared baking tray. Lightly drizzle or spray the onion with oil to help it crisp up.
– Bake for 25–30 minutes, rotating the tray halfway through for even cooking.
– If the onion is not crispy enough after 30 minutes, switch the oven to broil for 2–3 minutes, – keeping a close eye to prevent burning.
Serve: Remove the Blooming Onion from the oven and let it cool slightly.
