Charred Scallion Butter

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Scratchpad

Like many cooks, I have countless recipes that come and go from the dinner table. I jot down just about everything that I make, but most of it never reaches Chic Eats before I squirrel off to the next thing. This assortment of dishes is a bit like life—always in a state of fiddling and flux.

"Scratchpad" will be the new series where I share relatively brief entries featuring some favorites from my trove of recipe scribbles. While I can't help turning posts into food novellas à la my Sourdough Focaccia and Sauerkraut, these will be more like recipe cards. Share your feedback in the comments or drop me an email.

I'm kicking things off with Charred Scallion Butter—a component that I've made several times and now have a steady supply of in the freezer.

The obvious challenge with this series is that brevity is not my strength when talking about food—and this post ended up being longer than expected. Baby steps.

Endless Possibilities

"Favorite" is an overused term, but there are always scallions in my refrigerator. The versatility of this spindly allium makes it a phenomenal workhorse—often the transformative and underrated finish to a dish. A few weeks ago, I was craving a spread for black garlic & date focaccia and landed on Flavorama's Charred Scallion Butter. This stuff is delicious. The salted butter intensifies and unites the sweet and smoky nature of charred onions, making it a perfect match for bread and so many other dishes. One of the most satisfying things about cooking is trying something on a whim and having it unlock a world of possibilities.

Here are a few of the recipe ideas floating around in my notes:

• Garlic Bread—Carbone's garlic bread is both celebrated and generously topped with fresh chives. I haven't had the restaurant's version but can confirm that chives are a superb finishing touch. Scallions and chives aren't the same thing, not to mention when one is charred. But it's all in the produce family—literally and figuratively. Using charred scallion butter for a portion of the garlic spread is more of a gentle nod to Carbone's approach than an adaptation.
• Baked Potatoes—I mixed together plain and charred scallion butter and then topped the potatoes with more fresh chives, Peads & Barnetts bacon bits, and sour cream.
• Mac and Cheese—Use the charred scallion butter to make your roux and then rub some in the baking dish. Proceed as usual with your recipe, maybe adding some herby bread crumbs.
• Pasta—Using a knob of scallion butter to finish pasta dishes is excellent.
• Pizza or Flatbread—Instead of adding charred scallions to butter, try mixing them with some crème fraîche as a base. Top it with sauteed mushrooms, a smoky cheese blend, and maybe some red onion.
• Steak Topper—This one is obvious, but Captain Obvious I will remain.

Charred scallion butter will find its way into countless dishes once you have it on hand. Now let's get into making the component.

Farmers | Artisans

I make an effort to source my food from California artisans with a special focus on the Santa Monica Farmers Market. Below is a list of the people who contributed to this dish.

• Coleman Family Farms // Scallions
• The Garden Of // Scallions
• Apricot Lane Farms // Scallions

Ingredients

My preferred ratio of charred scallion bits to butter is 1:7 for table butter. For reference, a 1:7 ratio means 30 grams (1 ounce) of charred scallions is mashed together with 210 grams (about 7ish ounces/14 tablespoons) of salted butter. Given the flexibility of a recipe like this, I'm not including specific weights or measurements. The butter freezes beautifully so it's worth making a big batch.

• Scallions, washed and air dried. A few large scallions (the bunches I get are Jurassic in size) are usually enough for a decent batch
• Quality salted butter (French preferred), slightly softened at room temperature to aid in mixing.
• Flaky sea salt (Optional)

Choose Your Own Adventure

There are several paths that lead to delicious charred scallions. The end goal is for the greens to have a gradient of charring and for the whites to be soft, lightly blackened, and mashable. Both On Vegetables and Chi Spacca suggest rubbing the onions in a little olive oil, sprinkling with sea salt, then baking at 400°F or 450°F (respectively) until charred. Grilling is also an option. I've been using the broil method from Flavorama (explained below) but intend to give each method a try eventually. Whichever method you choose, flipping the scallions frequently is necessary.

Instructions for Broiling (Adapted from Flavorama)

Oven Prep

• Move your oven racks to the middle and top positions, then turn the broiler on high for at least 10 minutes.
• Line a baking sheet with foil for easy cleanup.

Scallion Prep

• Separate the greens and whites, removing the outermost layer from the whites if it's dirty or damaged.
• Rub the whites with a little olive oil and place them on the baking sheet in a single layer.
• Arrange the greens on the baking sheet without overlapping, slicing larger greens lengthwise. Note: The sliced greens may curl but can be laid flat after briefly warming in the oven.

Char

• Broil until the whites are mashable and the greens are crispy and charred in spots, flipping the greens and whites every couple of minutes. I pull the greens off the pan as they reach varying stages of doneness, some deep golden to black but still with patches of green. I usually end up removing most of the greens before the whites are done. When the whites are nearly done, move the baking sheet to the top rack for 20 seconds or so to ensure there's some good spotting. End to end, the charring process takes 7 to 10 minutes.

Mix

• Think of the charred scallions like a palette of colors to paint with—a spectrum of smokiness. I typically use all of the whites, then accent the mixture with the best-tasting smoky greens. It ends up looking a little like cookies and cream. As mentioned above, my basic ratio of scallion to butter is 1:7 for table butter (measuring in grams or ounces). Dusting the finished butter with some flaky sea salt is up to you. Is this fussy? Perhaps. But we're painting with flavor and having fun—a little of this, a little of that.

I think there’s an artist hidden at the bottom of every single one of us. - Bob Ross

Newsletter

Subscribe at the bottom of this page for the Chic Eats roundup. It includes new and updated recipes along with a grab bag of unique content that was interesting enough to share around the dinner table.