I have a lot of fun with recreation recipes because I know how helpful they can be to you in sustaining a real food & allergy friendly lifestyle. Early on in my dietary transition we used these types of recipes a lot and now we just use them as a treat when the mood strikes.

Sometimes we just need to relive an old favorite. Food carries so many memories, so many emotions. Eating a good meal can take you right back to a happy moment in your past. I remember eating blooming onions from Outback at hockey games with my Dad. They were pretty expensive so only an occasional treat, but I enjoyed every second of it. Crispy, slightly spicy, and oh so delicious.

While you could fry the blooming onion to be more authentic, I hate the hassle of frying things. By hassle, I mean cleanup. I hate cleaning. I opted to bake this, which still resulted in a perfectly crispy, but pull away tender paleo blooming onion. The dipping sauce is spot on, tasting just like I remember it at Outback. An air fryer would probably work great too.

If you need a visual on how to cut the onion, check out this video. It should look like this after cutting and peeling the petals back.

Paleo Blooming Onion with Dipping Sauce

prep 20 mins
cook 30 mins
total 50 mins
yield 1 onion

Ingredients

Onion

1 large yellow onion
2 large eggs
1 TBS cashew, almond, or coconut milk
2/3 cup Otto's Cassava Flour
2 tsp Himalayan pink salt
1 tsp cayenne pepper (add 1/2 tsp more if you like it really spicy)
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/8 tsp turmeric (*optional, adds color)
1.5 TBS ghee or coconut oil, melted

Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup Primal Kitchen mayo or homemade paleo mayo
1 TBS paleo ketchup
1.5 TBS horseradish
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp oregano
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

Blooming Onion:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and place a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet.
Cut 1/2 inch off the top of the onion. This is the side that comes to a point, not the root. Peel. Place the onion cut side down and make a downward cut starting approximately a 1/2 inch from the root. Make sure to slice all the way down until you hit the cutting board. Repeat to make 4 evenly spaced cuts around the onion. Keep slicing between the sections until you have 16 evenly spaced cuts.
Flip the onion over and gently peel back the layers separating the pieces. If your cuts didn't go all the way through use a small paring knife to finish the cuts and open the bloom. Start with the outer pieces and work your way in. If you are having trouble separating the petals, you can soak the onion in ice cold water for a few hours or drop it in boiling water and then quickly drop it into an ice bath.
In a bowl just large enough to hold the onion whisk the eggs and milk. In an additional bowl whisk the cassava flour, salt, cayenne, paprika, cumin, oregano, thyme, black pepper, and turmeric until well combined.
Dip the onion into the egg wash, making sure to coat all sides and in between the petals. Use a brush or spoon if needed.
Dip the onion into the flour mixture, again making sure to coat all sides and in between the petals. You may need to use a spoon or your fingers to sprinkle all the petals.
Dip again in the egg wash and then in flour. Move the onion to the baking sheet. Use a brush to coat any exposed areas with egg and then sprinkle with flour.
Drizzle or brush the flour with ghee to ensure that the flour will brown.
Bake for 25-30 minutes until the petals pull away easily and the crust is golden brown. If you have a lot of white flour specks showing brush with ghee and bake for an additional 3 minutes.

Dipping Sauce:

Whisk all ingredients in a small bowl until well combined.

Notes

If you want to serve your onion with the dipping sauce in the center, cut out the center using an apple corer or a small pairing knife before peeling back the layers.