The Chef

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Nomadic, love captive of the King, wholeheartedly loving, creating, and cooking my way through life in the city...with the help of viewers like you!

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Cameron Diaz' Whipped "Shallot Gold"

Last week on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, the incredibly good dancer, Cameron Diaz, shared her favorite flavor enhancer! I took what she shared, tried it, and whipped it up in my blender adding a saucy twist. So here for your flavor enhancing pleasure is my version of Shallot Gold. 
Cameron Diaz' "Whipped Shallot Gold"

Prep/Cook Time:
1Hour - 1.5 hours
Ingredients (Yields less than one 6oz. Mason Jar)

-4 C. Shallots Minced (I chose to mince 1/2 and grate the other 1/2)
-1/2 C. Extra Virgin Olive Oil (High Quality EVOO)
- A hefty Pinch of Sea Salt 

STEPS
1. Add EVOO to the saute pan on high heat.
2.  Drop in one small shallot chip and see if the oil begins to fizzle around the it.   
10 Min.
3.  When the oil has reached the 'fizzle point' drop in all the shallots and spread the salt broadly across the shallots. 
4.  Quickly stir the shallots coating them with the hot oil and reduce the heat to medium.  Be careful not to let the oil burn. Olive Oil has a very low tolerance for heat. 
20 Min.
5.  Once you can tell the onions have stopped 'steaming' then the water has come out of the shallot and it's time to reduce the heat for 45 minutes to an hour. Let it live on a very low simmer, stirring occasionally as the 'gold' forms. 
6.  Once you've achieved a perfect color and tasted/sampled your shallots to see if the bitterness is gone, then you are ready to 'whip' or emulsify it into a golden sauce.
55 Min
7.  Put the full contents from the pan into the blender and whip it for 30 seconds to a minute until the color has lightened ever so slightly and you can tell that air is permeating the oil/onion mixture. Your goal is to achieve whipped puree. It will not 'fluff' but it should be the consistency of flowing sauce.  




 Store this in a mason jar in the fridge(2-3 weeks max) and use no more than a tablespoon each time you need a little flavor enhancement.  Use this especially as a substitute for bacon bits or bacon flavor.
Disclaimer: Full credit goes to Jimmy Fallon & Cameron Diaz for the name & inspiration. 
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13 comments:

  1. UnknownMarch 4, 2014 at 7:35 PM

    I cooked on high, stirring constantly and they charred into a black mess in 4 minutes. Is my stove just too hot to cook them on high?

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    Replies
    1. AndréaMarch 4, 2014 at 7:50 PM

      Oh No Jennifer! I'm so sorry that happened to you. Olive Oil has a very low tolerance for heat. I was using a Copper heavy bottomed non-stick pan. If your pan is teflon or thin bottomed it can conduct the heat too quickly and burn the olive oil. Also if your stove top is electric vs. gas the heat can be too much too fast. If you try it again start on Medium and make sure to drop only a few onions in. They should just fizz...but not sizzle or blacken quickly. Once you've tested the sample then you can drop in all the onions. They will cool off the oil a bit when you drop them in and help keep it from burning. Let me know if you try it again. Better luck next time!

      Delete
    2. AnonymousMarch 10, 2014 at 5:04 PM

      There is no trans fat in bacon.

      Delete
    3. AndréaMarch 10, 2014 at 5:10 PM

      So what you are saying is that I've been believing a lie and that actually I should be eating all the bacon I want!!! Thank you for the education...I will commence enjoying bacon more regularly.

      Delete
  2. AndréaMarch 4, 2014 at 7:49 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownMarch 4, 2014 at 7:55 PM

    I will try it again...I only bought a few shallots this time to test it because they were so so expensive but I'm going to a market tomorrow where they are much cheaper. I was skeptical on high ;) I am using a pretty thick bottomed stainless steel pan but my glass top gets extremely hot. I will try it on medium! Thanks for posting this, btw. When I heard Cameron Diaz talking about it my mouth was just watering. I have every crazy food allergy under the sun (including pork) so I was really on board with this!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Shelly L.March 7, 2014 at 8:06 AM

    My coworker just told me about this, so I knew I had to look! Do you think it really tastes like bacon? I imagine it would be more like caramelized onions? Either way it sounds good :)

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    Replies
    1. AndréaMarch 7, 2014 at 8:31 AM

      So far I've added it to asparagus and Brussels Sprouts and they both taste like Bacon and caramelized onions. The original recipe isn't blended and is more like caramelized onions. The texture of this is similar to bacon fat without all the transfats.

      Delete
  5. AnonymousMarch 11, 2014 at 12:26 PM

    How many shallots do I need to buy for this recipe?

    ReplyDelete
  6. AndréaMarch 11, 2014 at 12:54 PM

    It really depends on how much you want to make. I didn't count the number of shallots I used in this recipe. The first time I tried it I only used 6 medium sized shallots and it produced just what you see in the jar above. The second time I didn't count how many I used...just measured to about 4 c. worth...but it was probably around 24.

    ReplyDelete
  7. UnknownMarch 15, 2014 at 2:37 PM

    My batch came out quite tasty, but I do think I may have had the heat too high. My batch didn't burn, but it did turn into a darker brown and not gold. Love this recipe!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousMarch 21, 2014 at 1:49 PM

    can you use regular yellow onions?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AndréaMay 24, 2014 at 9:34 AM

      I think you would get 'carmelized onions' for sure but they might not have the sweetness. Use vidalia onions for sure and test it out. Also, I think you would want to dice the onions and need to cook it on low for longer because the onions they have a thicker body. Let us know the results if you try it!

      Delete

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