Minimal Monday: Shoestring Onion Rings

I thumped, squeezed, sniffed and taste tested my way through lots of melons at yesterday's farmer's market with the thought squarely in mind of making a melon, mint, red onion and feta salad for today's post.  But for some reason not one of the melons managed to charm me out of my cash, and now look what's happened, I've swung to the complete far other end of the food spectrum.  I have no clue how these little shoestrings got into my mind but once they were there they just wouldn't let me alone.  The only thing I can say by way of explanation is that they turned out to be dead easy to make, so they've earned their spot as a Minimal Monday post.

These are the onion rings you hope every restaurant is going to serve.  These are the onion rings that go by on a waiter's try and all heads bob after them.  These are the onion rings that you order for the table and they disappear in a flash.
 

They're ridiculously easy to make, which I've already pointed out.  No batter involved, just a dusting of flour and cornmeal.  On top of that, one medium sized yellow onion makes a huge pile of the things.  And they don't need anything to go with them, they're perfect on their own...they're salty, crispy and oniony.  Of course if you happen to have some homemade Ketchup around, you won't get any arguments from me.

Directions for Shoestring Onion Rings:

• Peel a yellow onion and slice it on the 1/8 inch setting of a mandoline slicer.  
• Whisk together 1/2 cup flour,  1/2 cup cornmeal, and a tsp of salt in a pie plate. 
• Working in batches, toss some of the onion rings into the flour mixture, breaking them up into thin rings as you drop them in.
• Heat a couple of inches of vegetable oil* in a pan to about 325-350 degrees.
• Drop a handful of rings into the oil and watch them turn golden brown.  This will happen in under a minute.
• Remove them from the oil and drain on a paper towel.  Repeat with the rest of the onions.

What can you do with these?  You can stuff them in your mouth the minute they hit the paper towel, you can set them alongside a sandwich or burger, or you can pile them high on top of a steak salad, which is what I did.

And by the way, if you cut up a watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, or any other melon you like, toss it with thinly sliced red onion, shreds of fresh mint, some crumbled feta and a good dose of fresh lime juice, you've got a really fine salad.  Just in case the onion rings aren't your thing.

Happy Labor Day!