In New York City, certain Texan foods can be scarce. So whenever I do see them, I buy up the whole lot in fear I won’t have the opportunity again. For instance, if I see ruby red grapefruit in the winter, I buy up enough to fill my small refrigerator ensuring that I’ll be getting plenty of vitamin C in the next few days. Or in the spring, it’s the arrival of the Texas sweet 1015 onions that has me loading my entire basket with one single item.
Texas sweet 1015 onions, so named because you’re supposed to plant them on October 15, spent many years in development at Texas A&M, which resulted in the sweetest onions I’ve ever tasted. While eating uncooked onions is not something I usually enjoy, with the 1015 sweet onions it’s different—they are so mild and succulent I could eat a whole one raw with little more than a sprinkle of salt and a dash of balsamic vinegar.
That said, they’re mighty fine cooked, too. They’re my favorite onion for making onion rings and they’re also wonderful when you caramelize them and throw them on top of baked potatoes, stack them on hamburgers or stir them into sour cream for a delicious dip.
The 1015 has a very short season—they only grow from April to late May. And this is why when I do encounter them I buy as many as I can carry because I might not see them again, which is just what I did last week. As I worked through my latest acquisition, I’d eaten them in the ways mentioned above, but I still had a few left. While I wasn’t getting tired of them, I was looking for something new. And that’s when I learned about Texas 1015 sweet onion and rice casserole.
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