I use diced shallots all the time but I have neglected to show how to prep them in a fast and safe manner. So.... Here we go..
Take an individual bulb and cut of both ends.
Stand the shallot up on end and slice it in half dividing both inner pieces.
Peal the outer skin off.
Place the flat to the shallot on the cutting board and carefully slice against the grain to wind up with a stack of thin cross sections. Keep your off hand finger tips straight up and down to prevent slicing the tips of your fingers.
With the pile of cross sections laying flat on the board, cut across the stack with a rocking motion of the blade. Place your off hand across the point end of the blade ensuring that your fingers are straight and way form the cutting edge. Keep the point end on the board and quickly chop with the handle end. As you get used to the motion you can start to go fast and cop hundreds of times a minute.
Continue until you have a fine mince of shallots.
Every once in a while I scrape the out side edges in to pile the shallots back into the center and pile them up again. This gives the knife edge more pieces to cut with every stroke.
This is used for leafy herbs, garlic and any other finely minced aromatics.
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