I know there’s a lot of you out there that are going to be getting a fancy new air-fryer for Christmas this year. If not from someone else, maybe you’re buying one for yourself. They are all the rage right now anyway, right? I’ve been putting off getting one, but I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve been curious about the thing; how it works and if it works well.
I have long since made it my duty to not have a fryer in my home. When I was growing up we had one and my mom would rarely use it, and generally only for making french fries. Though there were a few shameless fried-food nights where my parents would fry up literally everything. Clearly, that isn’t how my own kitchen functions. Either way, my brother is in town and he brought his air-fryer for me to try out. And guess what? I don’t hate it.
Naturally, my first inclination is to homemake one of my fried food favorites; a blooming onion! I of course wanted to make the booking onion better so I used a whole wheat white flour and as little oil as possible. Just a quick spritz over the top and some mixed in with the breading.
Now, I will say that breading this onion is the trickiest part. Be sure you get each part of the dredging in between as many of the petals as possible so that when the onion ‘blooms’ in the cooking process that it crisps up and is coated fully.
I served mine with a side of some homemade ‘special sauce’ that I healthified up. The end result was a pretty tasty blooming onion, if I do say so myself! This would be a great healthier alternative for a proper gameday spread!
TheSkinnyFork.com A homemade blooming onion that's made in an air-fryer for an easier and more healthy way to indulge in a favorite gameday bite! Prep Time: 10 Minutes • Cook Time: 20 Minutes
Servings: 4 • Serving Size: 1/4 Onion • Calories: 207 • Fat: 9 g • Saturated Fat: 1 g • Carb: 27 g • Fiber: 2 g • Protein: 5 g • Sugar: 5 g • Sodium: 373 mg
• 1 Sweet Onion
• 1/2 C. Whole Wheat White Flour
• 1 Tsp. Paprika
• 1 Tsp. Salt, Divided
• 1/2 C. Unsweetened Almond Milk
• 1 Whole Large Egg
• 3/4 C. Panko
• 2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Directions:
Cut the tip off of the onion and peel it. Cut the onion in half, leaving about 1/4” connected at the root. Cut in half again to quarter it; continue to do this to make the ‘petal’ segments. Set aside once one.
In a small bowl, whisk together the 1/2 C. flour, 1 Tsp. paprika, and 1/2 Tsp. of the salt.
In another small bowl, whisk together the 1/2 C. milk, 1 egg, and 1/4 C. of the flour mixture.
In a third small bowl, whisk together the 3/4 C. panko with 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil.
Now that your dredging station is set up, place the onion into the first 'bowl with the flour mixture and coat it entirely; get it in between some of the petals and be sure to shake off any excess.
Next, dip the onion into the milk mixture.
And finally press the onion into the panko mixture.
Place the onion into the fry basket, give it a spritz of non-stick spray and cover lightly with foil. Cook it at 375 degrees F. for 15 minutes.
Remove the foil and cook at 375 degrees F. for another 5 minutes.
Once done, remove from the fry basket and serve right away with your choice of dipping sauce to enjoy!
Step-by-Step Photos:
Nutritional Claims: Balanced • Kidney Friendly • Vegetarian • Pescatarian • Dairy Free • Milk Free • Peanut Free • Soy Free • Fish Free • Shellfish Free • Pork Free • Red Meat Free • Crustacean Free • Celery Free • Mustard Free • Sesame Free • Lupine Free • Mollusk Free • Alcohol Free • No Sugar Added • Sulphite Free • Kosher
