Yesterday I had every intention of weeding a flowerbed in my front yard. I did, honest. But before I even pulled my first weed, I noticed a few clumps of purple bunching onions that were just beginning to flower. It was the best surprise! I completely forgot that I planted them there last summer, along with a crazy bunch of sunflowers, zinnias and tomatoes.

I grow bunching onions for the onions, of course, but I love to snack on their flowers, too. The petals are kind of crunchy and taste like a chive onion combo with a hot little zing at the end. 

Herby, garlicky butters are a standard at our house, and I figured that these slender purple onions and their flowers would make a fine substitution for chives, which are my go-to herb for butters. So instead of weeding, I decided to make some spring onion butter.

This was not a bad choice. For starters, the butter tastes super good on crackers. It also happens to go well with broccoli.

A couple of days ago, I discovered a stand of purple sprouting broccoli at our community garden that was just about to flower. I took a little nibble and found that the shoots were still totally tender and completely tasty. So I harvested a huge bunch and took it home. For dinner last night, I melted a few tablespoons of the spring onion butter in a big frying pan and popped in the broccoli shoots. I tossed the broccoli around until the stems were bright green and the florets were beginning to crisp up a bit. Yum! I ate most of my share straight out of the pan.

Spring Onion Butter

Try this butter melted over peas, asparagus, and tender green beans or spread on a crusty baguette. I suspect it tastes good floating on top of hot lentil soup, too. Herb butter freezes well for up to three months if wrapped tightly in plastic wrap.

What you’ll need:

1 teaspoon finely minced spring onion bottoms (the white part, roots removed)

1 teaspoon finely minced spring onion greens

1 small clove of garlic, minced (about ½ teaspoon)

Spring onion flowers (chives flowers will work in a pinch)

4 tablespoons salted butter at room temperature

Directions:

Put the butter in a small mixing bowl. Open up the onion or chive flowers, separate the petals and sprinkle them over the butter. Add in the onions (white and green parts) and garlic, then mash everything up with a fork until well combined.