Heaven from pennies. Roast an onion or two,

Ah, the humble onion. Do remember to look at it as a vegetable in its own right, rather than just as a base ingredient or aromatic.  Here is an idea for a simple meal that will show you what I mean. I prefer white onions --or whatever variety-- for this recipe. I would eat this alone or if company is here.

Just take one fat onion person, peel it and top and tail it and put it into an oven dish. Then, sprinkle it with a little oil (olive oil, sunflower, whatever you like), sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and put it into a medium hot oven for about an hour. You need the onion to be cooked so that it is whole and not collapsed. It should be soft and the edges will have caramelised and crisped up here and there. It will smell wonderful. Actually, even if I were only feeding one or two, I would fill my oven dish with these onions, all snuggled in together, because any leftovers are great in sandwiches or chopped up, with a little ground cumin and some chilli flakes added, and turned into an impromptu pickle.

Back to your dinner tonight. With your magnificent roast onion, serve some crusty bread, possibly a simple green salad and some cheese. Maybe a hunk of some local cheese of your choice? This is the sort of meal that sounds plain, perhaps a little empty, but is deeply savoury and very satisfying. Try it. 
Photo by Mer de Glace at Flickr : thank you!