Recipe: Roasted Vidalia Onion Flowers

ROASTED VIDALIA ONION FLOWERS
From: The Vidalia Onion by Barbara Hanson Pierce
Source: Gourmet Magazine, Nov 1991
Servings: 6

6 large Vidalia onions (3 1/2 lb)
6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup chopped pecans

With a sharp knife, trim the root end of each onion on its root end, cut parallel vertical slices at 1/4 inch intervals into but not through the onion, stopping about 1/2 inch above the root end.

Rotate each onion 90 degrees and cut parallel vertical slices in the same manner to from a crosshatch pattern, keeping the onions intact.

Arrange the onions, root ends down, in a lightly buttered shallow baking dish large enough to let the onion open or 'flower', drizzle them with the butter, and season them with salt and pepper.

Bake the onions in the middle of a preheated 350 degree F oven, basting them occasionally, for 1 hour.

Sprinkle them with the pecans, and bake them for 30 minutes more.