Isa Test Kitchen: Oven Baked Onion Rings

Andrew LOVES to cook. He gets such joy out of it. Especially when you have to painstakingly dredge onion rings in batter ONE by ONE. It's the most fun one could possibly have, right?

I'm lying. Obviously, no one likes battering stuff like that. It takes forever, and it's boring. Andrew and I tried to tag in and out so we could rest our minds from the bland abyss. But it doesn't help a whole lot. So, if you're ever going to a potluck and think making onion rings for 100 people sounds like a good idea -- don't. It's not really a good idea. I mean, it is. But it's a lot of work.

We made do though. MAYBE everyone didn't get onion rings. But I don't think I'll lose any sleep over it.

This recipes comes from www.theppk.com. I think they have a new low-fat, weight-lossy vegan cookbook coming out to counter the years we've all been cooking from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. And rightfully so. The recipe was super easy. We used Italian bread crumbs instead of just plain ones. We thought it'd be a little bland without all the oil and fatty deliciousness. We also cut the salt a little since a few commenters thought they were too salty. Give 'em a try!



Recipe: Oven Baked Onion Rings Via The PPK
2 vidalia onions (about a pound), or other sweet onion like Walla Walla (**we found this to be WAY too many onions)

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 tablespoons corn starch
1 cup cold almond milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs (**or Italian!!)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons olive oil
Cooking spray
Slice onions into 3/4 inch thick rings. Separate the rings and place in a bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel or something, to keep the onioniness out of your eyes.
Preheat oven to 450 F. Line a rimmed 12×18 baking sheet with parchment paper, spray with cooking spray and set aside.
Now you’ll need two bowls for batter and breading. If you’ve got large, wide cereal bowls that’ll do the trick. In one bowl, dump in the flour and cornstarch. Add about half of the almond milk and stir vigorously with a fork to dissolve. Add the rest of the almond milk and the apple cider vinegar, and stir to incorporate. Set aside.
In the other bowl, mix together the bread crumbs and salt. Drizzle in the oil and use your fingertips to mix it up well.
Assemble the onion rings:
Get a conveyor belt going. From left to right, have the onions, the flour mixture, the breadcrumbs mixture and lastly the baking sheet. Dip each onion slice into the the flour, letting the excess drip off. Transfer to the breadcrumbs bowl and use the other hand to sprinkle a handful of breadcrumbs over the onion, to coat completely. This may take a bit of practice. Carefully transfer each onion to a single layer on the baking sheet. Make sure you use one hand for the wet batter and the other for the dry batter, or you’ll end up with club hand.
Spray rings lightly with cooking spray and bake for 8 minutes. Flip, and bake another 6 minutes. Rings should be varying shades of brown and crisp. Taste one to check for doneness. Serve as soon as possible. With ketchup if you must.