When I was thinking about topics to post, I thought that maybe “dicing onions” would be a good place to start. I use onions all the time, for omelets, salsas, mirepoix, stews and soups, and it’s become good practice for me to dice onions this way. A good dice means that each piece is approximately the same size. This way, the pieces will cook evenly in a pan, or if you are using them in a salsa, like we are today, you won’t accidentally end up with a big blob of onion in your bite!
1. Start with an onion! I don’t peel right away. The outer layers will come off later.
2. Cut the onion lengthwise, from end to end. Work on one half of the onion at a time.
3. With the cut half down, cut off the top of the onion. I usually cut off maybe half to 1 inch or so, so I can see the layers of the onion when I’m done. You might say that’s wasting quite a bit of the top, but I compost, so I’m ok with it! Once the top is cut, you’ll find it a lot easier to peel off the onion skin.
4. Here’s the fun part (and the dangerous part). Without cutting through to the root, make parallel slices lengthwise along the onion with a sharp knife. Because you are leaving the root intact, the whole onion pretty much stays intact as you make your cuts. I normally slice to about half an inch from the end. Do be careful though, as the layers can get slippery and if your knife is a bit dull, it can slip easily and slice off a fingernail (been there, done that)!
5. Can you see the dices taking shape? Now go back and slice the onion perpendicular to your previous cuts. The little diced pieces will just fall off on their own!
6. Continue making slices across the onion. Make sure these cuts are approximately the same width apart as the lengthwise ones you made in Step 4. That ensures the dices are nice and square and even.
7. Stop once you’re close to the end of the onion, or when you’ve gotten to the end of your lengthwise cuts. You should have a pile of beautifully diced onions now!
Since I had these diced red onions laying around, I threw them in a bowl with some diced tomatoes, a handful of chopped cilantro and the juice from one lime. Season with salt and pepper, mix, and you’ve got yourself a super fresh, super yummy salsa, all ready for your Memorial Day BBQ! Kick it up a notch with some finely diced garlic or jalapeno peppers! (Maybe not the garlic if you intend on being social!)
One trick I’ve learned is that the salsa tastes better after it’s sat in the fridge for a while, so the flavors have had a chance to blend. The salt will extract some of the liquid from the onions and tomatoes, so you’ll see extra liquid at the bottom of the bowl. If you want a drier salsa, scoop out the tomato seeds and only use the flesh of the tomato in the salsa.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this first installment of Party In My Tummy! I’ll be hosting a link party on June 20th for you to show off your own tips and tricks, so grab a button and play along!
To see the other tips in this series, check out this post!
I’ve never seen a more beautiful diced onion! Thanks for the tip
This is very helpful. Thank you!
♥♥♥
Sue
You know, I’ll have to try leaving the ends in tact when cutting up my next onion! Great idea to have this series!
I just recently started dicing my onions this way and you’ve explained it beautifully! Love your photos, they are gorgeous.
my bro in law taught us this skill when he was in culinary school. it sound so silly but has completely changed my cooking. Thanks for sharing! i am your newest follower!
I’m so glad you use this technique! And how nice to have a trained chef in the family :-). Thank you for the follow and welcome! I hope you find the rest of the series to be helpful too!
the salsa looks divine! you make chopping the onions looks so easy and perfect 🙂
Love salsa,
Great tip! Thank you for linking up to A Pinteresting Party
Can you come over and make some for us??!!
Great post, thanks for sharing!
Oh my gosh, thank you so much for that tip! I always fail at cutting onions, but this looks like it would work great! I have a brand new link party going on and I’d be thrilled if you’d link this tip up so other people can learn it too!
http://practicallyfunctional.net/2012/05/the-fun-in-functional-link-party-1/