- May 7, 2020

Family Traditions: Making Life Sweeter with Vidalia Onions

Something you guys may not know about George is that his parents are “off the boat” from Germany. George grew up speaking a mix of english & german in his home, and his parents passed down wonderful stories, traditions, & recipes.

George’s Dad, Alfred, passed away a few years ago, and I know he misses him a lot - so when we partnered with Vidalia Onions and were challenged to use them in a recipe that demonstrates how they “make life sweeter,” we knew exactly what to do.

Alfred loved a traditional German recipe called “Zwiebelkuchen,” which is basically an Onion Pie, kind of like a tart. The recipe his mother made called for butter, cream, and all sorts of things we wouldn’t use… so George decided to reverse engineer it and make an upgraded, vegan, gluten-free version with Vidalia Onions!

First up, let’s talk about what constitutes REAL Vidalia Onions! Many people mistakenly think that all sweet onions are Vidalias, but that’s not accurate. They’re America’s favorite sweet onions, hand-planted and harvested in only 20 counties in South George, and only from April to August.

George used our REAL Vidalia Onions and got to work… and OMIGOODNESS you guys, this result was OUT OF THIS WORLD!!

Ok, you guys ready for this? Here’s the recipe!!

Vegan German Zwiebelkuchen (Onion Pie)

Dough:

½ cup + 2 tbsp (150ml) water

1/2 tsp salt

½ pack active dry yeast

1 ⅓ cups (150 g) flour (whole wheat or if you want it gf, like us, use gluten-free version)

Topping:

2-3 (25 oz or 700 g) big Vidalia Onions

Some water to braise

½ tsp caraway seeds

"Cream":

1 cup (150 g) cashews (soaked in water)

½ cup (125g) water

⅓ cup (80 ml) almond milk, unsweetened

Juice from half a lemon

1.5 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp of yeast flakes

½ tsp of garlic powder

1 heaped tbsp of tapioca starch

¼ cup (60 g) silken or soft tofu

Salt, pepper

Directions:

Dough:

Place the water and yeast in a mixing bowl. And let it stand for about 10 minutes.
Add Flour to yeast water
Knead for 4 minutes - add sea salt and knead for another 3 minutes
Leave the yeast dough to rise, covered for at least 1 hour.

“Cream” Sauce:

Place soaked cashews in a blender - add almond milk and mix until creamy
Press the water from the silken tofu
Now add all the other ingredients apart from the caraway and onion and mix thoroughly
Place sauce in fridge

Onion topping:

Peel the Vidalia Onions and grate them roughly
Place them in a large saucepan and braise them with 1 tsp of caraway.

Next...

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Now take the dough and roll it out evenly, and place it in the pie dish
Spread the onions evenly over it. Take the sauce out of the fridge and spread evenly over the onions.
Put the onion cake in the oven and bake for about 20-30 minutes or until slightly golden.