An ode to the (healthier) onion ring

I bought a copy of David Zinczenko's information-packed book, "Eat This, Not That," after so many friends told me about it.

On the "Not That" list: Chili's Awesome Blossom. Zinczenko calls this belt-busting appetizer a "Weapon of Mass Destruction," delivering a jaw-dropping 2,710 calories (67.4 percent from fat), more than 200 fat grams and 6,380 milligrams of sodium. Even if four diners share it, this still ranks as the worst meal-starter in the book.

The problem with an Awesome Blossom, or any deep-fried onion rings for that matter, isn't the onion with its mere 60 calories (2.3 percent from fat). But take that innocent allium and dip it batter and drop it into a fryer and trouble with a capital "T" floats to the surface.

No matter how it's coated, once an onion hits hot oil, the coating sucks it up like a sponge. And all that deep-frying fat goes from the fryer to your plate.

After losing more than 100 pounds for the first time in 1990, I closed the door on fried foods in general and onion rings specifically. I missed them, sure, but maintaining a healthy weight out-weighed that sense of loss.

Forsaking restaurant-made, deep-fried onions hasn't kept me from enjoying the taste sensation. I just had to figure a way to make low-fat, low-calorie onion rings.

The task seemed simple -- bake instead of fry -- but it proved more difficult and my early attempts yielded less than ideal results.

Last weekend I vowed to make an oven-fried onion ring that retained all of a fried onion's sensory qualities -- the crackling crunch of a deep-fried coating, yielding to a soft, sweet onion interior -- with little to no downside.

I whipped up a sticky batter from whole eggs and blended them with low-fat buttermilk, flour and seasonings. For crunch, I combined fat-free saltines and panko bread crumbs (both naturally crunchy); processing them together into fine crumbs. I went with yellow Spanish onions, not Vidalias, since super-sweet onions carry too much water and could make the coating soggy.

I cut my onion into thick, ½-inch rings and only used the larger outer rings, saving the small center parts for other uses. I set my oven to a very hot 450 degrees.

I gave the rings a light spritz of vegetable oil to help them brown and popped them into the oven. Halfway through, I flipped each onion over and lightly sprayed them again. I also turned each tray around and rotated them top to bottom. It took about 20 minutes before the coating turned a light golden brown.

The finished product wasn't shiny like deep-fried rings, but they sure looked good. The hot ring crackled as I bit through it. The coating delivered excellent flavor and the onion inside had become soft and sweet. Next, I squeezed a little ketchup on my ring and popped the rest in my mouth. Man, these were good.

When I checked the nutritional information I had Chili's beat by a mile.

Are my oven-fried rings as good as any restaurant? Maybe not, but they're still terrific. Make them yourself and see.

Extra-Crispy Oven-Fried Onion Rings

1 cup all-purpose flour, divided

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup low-fat buttermilk, at room temperature

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper

¼-½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

30 fat-free saltine crackers

2 cups unseasoned (plain) panko bread crumbs

1 extra-large or 2 large yellow onions (about 1¼ pounds), peeled and cut into ½-inch-thick rounds

Vegetable oil spray

Place oven racks in the lower-middle and upper-middle positions and heat oven to 450 degrees.

Place ½ cup flour in one-gallon plastic bag. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat eggs; whisk in buttermilk, remaining ½ cup flour, salt, black pepper and cayenne. Set aside.

Using a food processor, pulse crackers and bread crumbs until finely ground and place in separate shallow baking dish.

Line two, half-sheet baking pans with heavy-duty foil. Spray foil lightly with vegetable oil. Set aside.

Separate onion into rings; reserving the centers for another use. Add two or three rings to the flour bag, close bag and shake until rings are lightly coated; tap-off excess flour.

Working one at a time, dip each ring in buttermilk mixture, allowing excess to drip back into bowl, then drop into crumb mixture, turning ring to coat evenly. Transfer rings as they're coated to the prepared sheet pans. When complete; lightly spray each ring with vegetable oil.

Place pans in oven and bake. Using tongs, turn onion rings over, spray them lightly with oil, and switch and rotate the sheet pans halfway through baking, until onions are golden brown on both sides, about 20-24 minutes. Serve immediately.

Serves six.

Nutrition values per serving: 186 calories (30.4 percent from fat), 6.3 g fat (0.7 g saturated fat), 30.4 g carbohydrates, 2.8 g fiber, 8 g protein, 53 mg cholesterol, 636 mg sodium.

SaltSense: Omitting the added salt reduces the sodium per serving to 249 mg.