Coal-baked onion with chard, labneh and beans
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A celebration of fresh vegetables and how barbecuing can transform the humblest of produce into a centrepiece, this dish of a smoky, meltingly soft and sweet onion bolstered by dressed beans, peas and chard is a simple, quick knockout.
Ingredients
- 2 red onions
- 8 Swiss chard leaves , large
- 2 handfuls of broad beans , peas or other small seasonal vegetables
- 50ml of olive oil
- 1 lemon , juiced and zested
- 5 sprigs of tarragon , chopped
- 1 handful of pistachio nut s, shelled
- sea salt , to taste
Labneh
- 300g of natural yoghurt
- 10ml of olive oil
- 6g of fine salt
Method
1
The night before you plan to serve this dish, mix all the ingredients for the labneh together and hang in a muslin cloth over a bowl in the fridge to strain
2
The next day, the yoghurt should have thickened. Transfer from the muslin cloth into a bowl and reserve in the fridge until needed
3
Light a barbecue and preheat an oven to 170°C/gas mark 4
4
Place the onions, whole and unpeeled, directly into the coals of the barbecue. Cook, turning occasionally, until the whole outside is black and burnt and you can feel that the insides have softened
5
Meanwhile, toast the pistachios in the oven for 10 minutes, then roughly chop
6
Once the onions are soft and black, remove from the barbecue and wrap tightly in in foil. Place in the oven for 10 minutes to finish cooking through if you think they need it, otherwise set aside
7
Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and blanch your peas, beans or whatever seasonal vegetables you are using. They will take a different amount of time depending on what they are, so don’t just add them all at once. For the chard leaves, blanch the stems for a minute or 2 first, then lower in the leaves for 30 seconds
8
Once all your vegetables and chard are blanched, drain and dress with the olive oil, lemon zest and juice, tarragon and salt
9
Unwrap the onions from the foil and peel away all the burnt outer layers, leaving you with the soft centre. Cut each onion into wedges, but don’t go all the way through – this should open up the onions like a flower
10
To serve, spread a bed of labneh in the centre of each plate and top with the chard. Place the onion on top, then dress with the peas and beans. Finish with the chopped pistachios and enjoy
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Coal-baked onion with chard, labneh and beans
