VIII: Shallot
Dogon somè is a shallot-based suite of condiments.
Good morning. Today is octidi, the 8th of Messidor, Year CCXXXI. We celebrate l'échalote, little sweet onion-type guys that will kick up your aromatics a notch.
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Shallots are often thought of interchangeably with sweet onions – like they're just baby versions – but these bulbs have less acidity than onions and impart a milder, sweeter flavor. That said, their small size packs a big punch, so it only takes one small shallot bulb to get the aromatic effect of a large onion, leaving more contact room in a hot pan for meat to sear on. Shallots also pickle more easily. I like to think of them as onion shortcuts.
The second-largest producer of onions and shallots in the world, trailing China by only a little bit, is the Western African nation of Mali. While commercial onion growers make up a large percentage of this yield, a significant contributor is the shallot fields of Central Mali cultivated and processed by the Dogon.
