Thyme Scented Baked Onions with Bacon & Cheese
Thyme Scented Baked Onions with Bacon & Cheese
Herbs on Saturday
Today’s Herbs on Saturday post is all about Thyme……..I grow many varieties of thyme in my old walled herb garden and its heady and aromatic scent and flavour is one of my favourites in the kitchen. There are many varieties of thyme, both wild and cultivated, and I have some lovely varieties that include caraway, lemon, mint and peppery flavours……..with one variety that is wild and is almost like a hill grown oregano in taste and is a ground covering herb in my front garden. Below is more information about this wonderful and ancient herb.
Thyme Scented Baked Onions with Bacon & Cheese
- A bundle of Thyme
~ Thyme ~
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Culinary Use:
Thyme is superb in recipes that call for long, slow cooking as it is one of the few herbs that won’t lose its flavour when cooked for a long time. Sprigs of thyme can be placed in the water of steamed or boiled vegetables, or used to make thyme-scented vinegars and oils. Fresh leaves and flowers can be used in salads and as garnishes, and you can use the leaves, fresh or dried, for making thyme butter and cooking oil. Add lemon thyme to chicken breasts with a drizzle of olive oil and some freshly milled pepper to make a wonderful aromatic chicken dish for a supper or lunch. Strip the leaves from stems when using fresh. Chopped fresh leaves are much more pungent than dried so use sparingly if substituting fresh for dried in a recipe.
(Information by Debs Cook: Herb Expert Columnist, Garden News) Debs Cook also has a wonderful herbal blog here: Herbal Haven
Thyme Scented Baked Onions with Bacon and Cheese
The recipe I am sharing today is an easy baked onion recipe which uses fresh thyme in a wonderful stuffing mixture of bacon and cheese; this makes a delightful supper dish when accompanied by crusty bread and a seasonal salad. The recipe calls for four large onions, and one each per diner is usually sufficient, by my onions were quite small, so I served two onions per person and the quantity of stuffing was just perfect for these smaller onions. If you have any stuffing mixture left over, I usually grab a couple of tomatoes and stuff them for another meal, such as breakfast or brunch.
Thyme Scented Baked Onions with Bacon & Cheese
Thyme Scented Baked Onions with Bacon & Cheese
Print recipe
| Serves | 4 |
| Prep time | 30 minutes |
| Cook time | 1 hour, 15 minutes |
| Total time | 1 hour, 45 minutes |
| Region | British |
| By author | Karen S Burns-Booth |
Ingredients
- 4 Large Onions
- 50g Fresh Wholemeal Breadcrumbs
- 100g smoked lardons or streaky bacon, chopped into small dice
- Crème Fraîche (to mix)
- 50g Parmesan Cheese (plus a little extra for sprinkling over the top)
- Black Pepper (to taste)
- Fresh Thyme (I used Lemon Thyme & it was wonderful)
- 25g Butter (Salted is best)
Note
For vegetarians, omit the bacon and add 100g of grated cheese such as Cheddar or Cheshire cheese - I have also used Sage Derby in the past which works beautifully.
Directions
| Step 1 | Cook the onions in their skins for 30 minutes in boiling water, then drain and allow to cool before slipping the skins off. Reserve 6 tablespoons of the onion water for baking later. |
| Step 2 | Cut the top of each onion and carefully remove the centres, leaving about 1cm (1") of onion shell. Chop the removed onion centres very finely. |
| Step 3 | In a large bowl, mix the chopped onion centres, bacon pieces, breadcrumbs, a tablespoon of finely chopped thyme and Parmesan cheese together, using your hands if necessary. Add sufficient crème fraîche to bind the mixture and then season with black pepper to taste; I used 1/4 teaspoon. |
| Step 4 | Spoon the mixture into the onion shells, pressing the mixture down firmly to fill the cavity. Stand the studded onions in an oven-proof dish, shallow is best, and then spoon the reserved onion water in and around the onions. Top each onion with a knob of butter. |
| Step 5 | Bake the onions at 190C/375F/Gas 5 for about 45 minutes, or until tender. Take the onions out just before the end of cooking and sprinkle some Parmesan cheese over them , then bake for a further 5 minutes. |
| Step 6 | Serve hot with salad, crusty bread or grilled tomatoes for a comforting lunch or supper dish. |
| Step 7 | Vegetarian: For vegetarians, omit the bacon and add 100g of grated cheese such as Cheddar or Cheshire cheese - I have also used sage Derby in the past which works beautifully. |
That is it for today, this is the last Blog Hop for February and my Herbs on Saturday event – a new one will be posted for March next week, and, I will be posting a short round up next week, so if you want to add your recipe, please add them here:
Join the in the Herbs on Saturday Blog Hop
Bye for now and have a GREAT weekend! Karen
Thyme Scented Baked Onions with Bacon & Cheese
A Trifle Rushed says
I have thyme in my Breton garden, and I can imagine these being superb with some beautiful Roscoff Onions, so we’ll be trying them for supper during the Easter holidays.
I meant to say how lovely your photo is on your blog camp post, I’m looking forward to hearing all about it. I hope we can manage a get together if your over in the UK for any time.
Have a lovely weekend, the sun is shining here and this afternoon we’re going to fed the ducks at Pen Ponds, in Richmond Park. Jude x
Karen says
Thanks Jude! Thanks for ALL your lovely comments!! I will try Roscoff onions next time as the I have a tresse at the moment hanging up in the pantry! It was a lovely sunny day here too, but you know about my poor wee hen, not looking good…..Karen xx
Patricia (La Chatte Gitane) says
Now that looks fantastic ! Thanks for the idea.
Karen says
Thanks Patricia, it was a wonderful supper dish.
Helene Dsouza I Masala Herb says
Oh, what a nice dish idea. I was just thinking earlier what veggies I could stuff. (love stuffing these days).
Very informative post about thyme, love it to read some history behind ingredients and if it s a herb its even more interessting. I always wish I could grow thyme here in india, but I dont even get seeds here to try it out.
By the way, its so cool that u have different thyme types growing in your garden. I want too! 😉
Have a nice weekend!
Karen says
Thanks Helene, I would be lost without my thyme in the garden, maybe I can send some seeds to you?
Bakingaddict says
This looks amazing!! I love thyme but never really knew much about it so thanks for the informative post. The only herbs I’ve grown are basil and mint (in a lot by the window).
Karen says
Thanks…..I find Thyme very easy to grow, and it does well in pots too.
Mark Willis says
That is a lovely combination. I think I’d like those onions served alongside some roast pork.
Karen says
That is a great idea Mark – may do that next time and add sage too!
Janice (Farmersgirl) says
What a great recipe, it looks so delicious.
Karen says
Thanks Janice, they were very tasty I have to admit!
Ren Behan says
A lovely recipe and a great use of thyme. Baked onions are very comforting I find. I think these would be delicious too with some thyme-scented Bolognese sauce but the cheese and bacon sounds quick and easy.
Karen says
Yes, I have stuffed these before with a mince sauce not dissimilar to Bolognese, they were lovely but more time consuming, so tried this idea for a quick-ish supper! Thanks Ren……
Dominic says
I love thyme… I have a lemon thyme and a regular thyme in the garden and along with rosemary is my ‘go to’ herbs… the stuffed onions is a very lovely idea… may fiddle with a veggie version asThe Viking loves his onions!
Karen says
Thanks Dom….I am also a thyme lover too as well as liking my onions – there is a veggie idea on the recipe for The Viking! Karen
Kit says
These baked onions looks tasty & stunning! I love to add some herbs when I cook or sometime in my bakes. It does make a difference to the taste. Love thyme especially lemon thyme. Have a lovely weekend, Karen! 🙂
Karen says
Thanks Kit, I hope you have a Bon Weekend aussi! Karen
Kentish Keg-Meg says
Oh this is great. We are a great onion eating family! So a new recipe using onions so needed to ring the changes.
Karen says
Thanks, they were really good, I love stuffing of all kinds as well as onions, so a perfect dish!
Fishfingers for tea says
This sounds absolutely delicious. I showed this to my husband who is really not a fan of this kind of thing and he wants it on the menu asap!
Karen says
OH! That is fabulous! I do so hope he likes them! Thanks, Karen
Javelin Warrior says
Karen, thanks so much for sharing all that knowledge about thyme! Most of that was brand new info to me and it’s quite fascinating – especially the history of thyme. I think thyme may be my favorite herb – I use regularly is so many different dishes – and always the fresh variety. Anyway thanks for teaching me something new 🙂
Karen says
Many thanks for stopping by! Karen
Lauren says
They’re so cute! Thyme is one of my absolute favorite herbs. I use it all the time. Eeek–I need to get my garden planning under way. I’m running a bit late this year.
Karen says
Thyme is SO versatile Lauren – it went beautifully with the onions and stuffing.
Fiona Matters says
I adore onions – but would never have thought of stuffing them. What a great idea.
John Cheshire says
I have some very nice thyme in my garden and I love onions though I am not growing them at the moment. Will definitely try this.