Creamed Onions

In my family, these are known as Aunt Florence's creamed onions, although at one point they were a very common winter dish, and a staple at Christmas. They seem to have fallen somewhat by the wayside in recent decades. Perhaps people are startled by the idea of treating something as plebian as the onion to a rich cream sauce. I think they are delicious, and enjoy them very much. The smaller the onions you can get, the better; but there is no need to go looking for tiny pearl onions or the like, unless you really want to. Regular cooking onions are just fine.

4 servings
40 minutes - 20 minutes prep time

8 to 16 small onions (about 500 grams, or a good pound)

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup rich milk or light cream
salt & pepper
nutmeg

Peel the onions and boil them gently until tender. They should be put in the pot so as to stand on end, and be packed in fairly tightly, and boiled quite gently. This will help to keep them whole.

Drain them into a strainer, and return the pot to the stove. Put in the butter and flour, and mix well. Slowly mix in the milk or cream to make a smooth sauce. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Return the onions to the pan and heat through, occasionally stirring very gently. I like to sprinkle over a little more nutmeg when I serve them.