Vegetable of the month: Shallots

Not only are shallots incredibly beautiful, with their papery rose-bronze shell and silky pink flesh, their sweet, delicate flavour makes a perfect addition to subtle European and Asian dishes.>

A labour of love

Shallots are a long-term crop. They’re one of the first seeds we sow each year. In January we raised 10,000 from seed in module trays in our propagation tunnel. They were ready to be planted outside in May and harvested in August. But the care and attention doesn’t stop there…

Home and dry

Once harvested, they need to be slowly dried outside for six to eight weeks. Dried shallots last much longer than fresh (keeping for months, as opposed to weeks). They’re traditionally sundried on the field, but you can’t risk them getting wet in the rain. Because we had such a soggy summer this year, we moved ours inside one of our polytunnels.

A bumper crop

This year’s shallot harvest has been excellent for us. The bulbs are plump and we’ve harvested over half a tonne so far! This is good news, because at 10 times the price of other onions, they are the most expensive seeds we buy. There are two main types of shallot grown in the UK, which are either 'torpedo’ or 'globe’ shaped. We opt for globe-shaped shallots as they grow really well on The Farm.