Shallots-Easy to Grow

We’re getting a little rain today, but so far, wind has upstaged moisture. Knowing that a storm was coming, I got out and harvested my shallots last week. Their tops were still green. Only their tips had turned brown, but I needed the beds to put in some transplanted strawberry plants, so the shallots had to go.

I’ve grown shallots for years. The sweet, mild tasting (and expensive by the way) onion, called for in gourmet recipes, grows like a green onion. You can use the tops, snipping off what you need, and leave some green to nourish the bulb growing beneath the soil. My bulbs don’t grow as large as the shallots you buy in the market. I think those of you who live in the warmer inland climate, will get larger bulbs.

The bulbs look much like a garlic having separate “cloves”. You can separate these, and store them for later use and planting. I’ve planted shallots any time of year but it is recommended you plant them in the fall for a late spring harvest (unless you are impatient, like me, and need the bed for new strawberries).

This year I cut off the rather small bulbs and stored them, then washed and froze the green tops in plastic bags. The frozen green tops will be soft when they are defrosted, not good for recipes calling for fresh green onions, but I can use them on the tops of pizzas or in scrambled eggs or soup. They really are quite delicious. I sauted some chopped green shallot tops in olive oil and refrigerated them for recipes calling for sauted green onion. I’ll just take out a tablespoon or two when needed.

I would have liked to have waited to have larger shallots before pulling them. Their tops probably would have turned brown by June and would have been ready for harvest. But part of gardening (and cooking for that matter) requires you make the best of the situation. I think (hope) I’ve done that and will enjoy my shallot greens for some time.