Oven-Fried Ginger Sourdough Onion Rings with Pam’s Pepper Jam

I’m at the giggle stage of deep fatigue here at the end of my last medicine clerkship. Anything could trigger an intractable fit. Several days ago, my husband KP accompanied me to a yoga class—admittedly more as a spotter than as a participant, in case I fell asleep in the middle of a headstand or became unresponsive during shevasana. After a few vinyasa sun salutations, I flowed out of downward dog, grabbed my water bottle and gave it a good squeeze in the general direction of my open mouth. Nothing happened. Forgot to unstopper the nozzle. I pulled at it with my teeth, with a little more difficulty than a normal person might have. All it took was seeing KP in the mirror flare his nostrils at my not-so-smooth water bottle moves to trigger the giggles—and just as quickly as the column of water hit my tongue did it promptly shoot out—a spray of spittle spanning the surface area of three adjacent mats. Major yoga foul. Before a room of sun saluters, I unwittingly invented a fresh new pose: giggling spigot.

Couch-assisted chair pose is the other yoga pose I’ve recently assumed, now that World Cup is in full storm. GO USA! This means for the time being my dinners will be comprised of popcorn, onion rings, green smoothies and beer. Thankfully, I discovered a reasonably healthy version of onion rings, oven-fried rather than deep fat-fried, that tastes amazing when dipped in Pam’s Pepper Jam, which I insist you buy immediately, not just because the jam is delicious but because Pam, who I met at the local grocery co-op, is a lovely human being whose kind spirit surely adds some sort of cosmic anti-oxidants to each jar.

Oven-Fried Ginger Sourdough Onion Rings with Pam’s Pepper Jam

2 medium (or 1 large) sweet onions, sliced ½-inch thick

In three separate bowls, mix:

¼ cup whole wheat pastry flour

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon Mignonette black pepper (Penzeys, MSP, MN)

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1 cup sourdough starter

¼ cup cold water

1 egg

1 TB Ginger

1 TB honey

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1 cup Panko bread crumbs

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Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and drizzle on 4-6 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Prepare the onion rings by first dipping a ring into the seasoned flour, then into the sourdough batter (let the excess batter drip off), and then coat with the bread crumbs. As you finish the rings, place them on a large plate. Repeat with all rings.

Place the oiled baking sheet in the oven for 3-4 minutes (remember how quick EVOO is to burn). Carefully remove the sheet from the oven and tilt to evenly coat with the hot oil.

Working quickly, place your onion rings on the baking sheet and return to oven. Bake for 8 minutes, then flip onion rings and bake for an additional 6-8 minutes, or until golden brown.

This post is featured with my favorite Sourdough Surprises baking blog community– a group of folks whose work often gets me into giggling spigot pose, and always into my most favorite of all poses—hungry drooler.

http://www.sourdoughsurprises.blogspot.com/