Chef Nick Mastrascusa of Ulu Ocean Grill and Sushi Lounge at the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai was named the Maui onion champ Saturday, winning the Maui Onion Festival recipe contest with a complex dish merging onion and sea urchin in a flan and a soup.

 MAUI ONION AND UNI FLAN WITH MAUI ONION AND HEARTS OF PALM SOUP

>> Flan:
1/2 cup diced Maui onion
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup cream
2 ounces uni (sea urchin, found at some fish markets and Asian groceries)

>> Soup: 
1/2 cup Maui onion
1/4 cup hearts of palm
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup chicken stock
Salt, to taste

>> Garnish:
Hearts of 4 Maui onions
4 pieces uni
4 teaspoons caviar

To make flan: Sauté onions in butter until soft. Add cream; cook 5 minutes. Blend and strain. Cool.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Return mixture to blender, add uni, blend again. Strain. Place in
four 2-ounce baking dishes. Place dishes in baking pan and add water to pan halfway up sides of dishes. Cover with foil. Bake 10 minutes.

To make soup: Sauté onions and hearts of palm in olive oil until onions are softened. Cook 5 more minutes; add stock. Cook 5 minutes. Blend until smooth. Add salt.

Pan-roast onion hearts in oil.

To plate: Place flan in middle of bowl. Pour soup around. Garnish with onion heart, uni and caviar. Drizzle with olive oil. Serves 4.

Nutritional information unavailable.