How shallot I use all of these shallots

May 10, 2024 8:55 PM

It's another recipe question with a large amount of one ingredient. I have So Many Shallots. Help me with some recipes or suggestions for lots of shallots. Optional difficulty: Vegan, not required but appreciated.
posted by panhopticon to Food & Drink (22 answers total)

Duxelles
posted by pullayup at 9:15 PM on May 10 [1 favorite]

I recently had this problem and made pickled shallots. Really nice to have around to add to tacos, ramen, restaurant leftovers.
posted by kitschfrau at 9:23 PM on May 10

I think of shallots as being halfway between onions and garlic. So, when I have a lot of them, which happens sometimes, I use them in place of onions and/or garlic. This approach has never failed me.
posted by Dr. Wu at 10:27 PM on May 10 [3 favorites]

They are wonderful in Sambar.
posted by fritley at 10:31 PM on May 10

Won’t use a ton unless you get into a habit, but a decadent use is to roast the cloves whole in the oven until soft. Then smear them into sturdy French bread (or vegan equivalent) like butter (except bettttttter).
posted by Tandem Affinity at 10:56 PM on May 10 [1 favorite]

You can chop them up and freeze them, or dehydrate them. I have used successfully used frozen ones that I've put aside more than once. The dehydrated ones (along with shallot powder) from Penzey's are awesome. I can't imagine it would be difficult to do yourself. Low and slow in your oven with patience. How low can you get your oven to go?

Otherwise, as noted above, duxelles is a most excellent way to use them up (duxelles as freezes beautifully!).
posted by dancinglamb at 11:38 PM on May 10 [3 favorites]

Fried shallots. You can make them in the microwave.
posted by O9scar at 11:42 PM on May 10 [3 favorites]

Shallot marmalade. This recipe uses a pound of shallots and the jam keeps for 2 months.
posted by amusebuche at 11:54 PM on May 10 [1 favorite]

Last time I had excess shallots I made this caramelized shallot pasta. To make it vegan you'd need to sub out the anchovies; I might try some Kalamata olives for saltiness.
posted by magicbus at 2:54 AM on May 11 [8 favorites]

Zwiebelkuchen uses 2 1/2 lbs of onions and you could sub in the shallots. Recipe does ask for bacon though.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 4:51 AM on May 11

Slice or dice and freeze, caramelize and freeze, French onion soup.
posted by RoadScholar at 6:03 AM on May 11

Roast shallots with apples, mixed with a bit of dijon mustard and apple cider vinegar. Serve with a protein of your choice.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 6:09 AM on May 11 [1 favorite]

a small shallot is perfect size for adding to a vinaigrette.

thinly sliced raw shallots are great in grilled cheese sandwiches.

Otherwise, just add some in whenever you use onions.
posted by mmascolino at 6:12 AM on May 11

Seconding magicbus - I ran into the same problem recently (problem?) and made that pasta. It's one of the best pastas I have ever had.
posted by General Malaise at 6:59 AM on May 11

The shallot pasta mentioned above is PHENOMENAL !!
posted by bookworm4125 at 7:53 AM on May 11

French onion shallot soup.
posted by Phanx at 8:36 AM on May 11 [1 favorite]

Thirding shallot pasta sauce. I freeze the sauce in small clumps on a sheet pan and store in a bag. I use it for pasta sometimes but also anything that can use some flavor... various stews, roasted fish or chicken, whatever!
posted by acidic at 10:05 AM on May 11

Seconding the Shallot Marmalade.
posted by miscbuff at 8:01 PM on May 11

This recipe for Egyptian bissara turned up in my feed and it is garnished with a lot of fried shallots. I haven't made it yet, but it looks so delicious.
posted by mumimor at 11:01 AM on May 12

This recipe for balsamic roasted shallots was a BIG hit at my last dinner party and was also super easy.
posted by egeanin at 2:18 PM on May 12

Fourthing Alison Roman’s shallot pasta sauce. The anchovies do a good bit of the work there, though - you need something with funk that will melt away. Maybe miso?
posted by madcaptenor at 6:51 PM on May 12

Something you can make that'll keep in a little container for a few weeks: Thai-style crispy shallots! I get these at a nearby Asian grocery store, but they're fabulous if you make em yourself. The key is to cook them quite gently; watch Pailin's video at the link.

If you're not already familiar, these are similar to French's fried onions (the sort you might see on a green bean casserole), but without any kind of batter/coating. They're extremely good on a Thai or Viet-style noodle bowl: just last night I took rice noodles, pickled daikon and carrot, cucumber, a whole bunch of herbs (mint, basil, shiso), a peanut dressing, a little chicken, and a couple of big handfuls of peanuts and fried shallots, and had a deeply satisfying dinner. Take out that chicken and it's a soul-satisfying vegan meal!
posted by IcarusFloats at 6:30 AM on May 13