Mini Blooming Onions

Okay I’ll admit it. I go to Outback Steakhouse because of the Blooming Onions!  Oh my goodness….they are the perfect appetizer...so light and crispy and I always eat way too many. By the time my dinner arrives, I am too stuffed to eat.  So I decided to make them at home....only miniatures ones....little baby blooming onions that I can pop in my mouth whenever I want!   I warn you….these are so addicting! 

Mini Blooming Onions

6 small sweet or yellow onions

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

½ tsp cayenne pepper

½ tsp smoked paprika

½ teaspoon baking powder

Slice an onion in half vertically, but don’t cut all the way through to the base. The idea is to keep the bottom intact. Turn the onion 45 degrees, slice vertically again and repeat until you end up with what looks like little rectangles of onion, still attached at the base. Repeat with the remaining onions.

Loosen the onions a little by wiggling them around to separate the pieces slightly and create space between them. Place the buttermilk in a shallow dish and then add the onions to it. Toss well and massage the onions to get the coating into the center.

In a medium-size shallow dish, whisk the flour with the salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika and baking powder to combine. Working one at a time, remove an onion from the buttermilk and dredge fully in the flour mixture, working again to make sure the breading gets into the center.

Heat 3 inches of oil in a wide pot over medium-high heat until it reads 350 degrees on a thermometer.  Working in batches, fry the onions until they’re golden and crisp, flipping them over halfway through cooking, about 8 to 10 minutes. Set the cooked onions on paper towels to absorb the excess oil.  Serve immediately with the dipping sauce.

  

Dipping Sauce

½ cup sour cream

¼ cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon prepared horseradish

½ teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a medium bowl, whisk the sour cream with the mayonnaise, horseradish, garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper to combine. Set aside to serve with your blooming onions.

Photography is the property of and copyrighted to ©Welcome Home.