Small, flat and mild tasting, cipollini onions are perfect for roasting and also for caramelizing in balsamic vinegar for a great sweet and sour flavor.
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Caramelized Cipollini Onions
- Total Time: 105 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
Description
Sweet and savory caramelized cipollini onions, perfect as a side dish or topping. A touch of balsamic adds depth.
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 lb cipollini onions
- 1/3 cup of sugar
- 4 Tbs unsalted butter
- 1 Tbs water
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- zest of 1 lemon
- 4 bay leaves
- 3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Boil a large pot of water. When the water boils, toss in the onions.
- Par boil them for about 1 minute and then drain.
- Rinse them in cold water to stop the cooking process.
- Set them aside to cool a bit.
- Zest 1 lemon.
- Mix the lemon zest with the bay leaves.
- When the onions have cooled a bit, slip them out of their outer skin by cutting off the tip of the onion and slipping off the skin.
- Put 1/3 cup of sugar in a skillet in a little mound.
- Add 1 tbs of water to it.
- Gently melt the sugar water under a moderate heat without stirring it. I rotated the pan around on the heat, sliding the dissolved sugar around until it forms a light amber colored caramel.
- Take the pan off the heat and carefully stir in the butter and balsamic vinegar.
- Be careful adding the vinegar, as the caramel will harden up and you’ll have hard crunchy bits of sugar.
- Put the pan back on the heat and stir until the caramel is melted again.
- When the caramel has melted down again, add in the onions, the lemon zest, and the bay leaves.
- Stir everything around, and add in the broth.
- Bring the whole thing to a boil, then add salt and pepper to taste, turn the heat down and let everything simmer over a low heat until the onions are glazed and the liquid is syrupy. This takes about 1 and 1/2 hours.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 90 minutes
- Category: Side Dish
- Cuisine: Italian
Frequently Asked Questions
Why par-boil the cipollini onions before caramelizing them?
A quick 1-minute blanch in boiling water loosens the outer skin so you can slip it off easily once they cool. Trying to peel raw cipollini is frustrating — the blanch step makes the whole process faster.
Why does the caramel seize when I add the balsamic vinegar?
Hot caramel hardens instantly when it hits a cold or acidic liquid, leaving crunchy sugar lumps. Take the pan off the heat before stirring in the butter and 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar, then return it to the heat and stir until the caramel melts back into a smooth glaze.
Why does this take 1 and 1/2 hours to simmer?
The onions need to absorb the balsamic-caramel glaze slowly while 3 cups of broth reduce to a syrupy consistency. Rushing this on higher heat risks burning the sauce before the onions are properly glazed and tender all the way through.
Can I use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth?
Yes. Either 3 cups of chicken or vegetable broth works here — both give enough body and salt to build the braising liquid that turns into the glossy final sauce.
I boiled the onions a few minutes longer and then put them in the fridge to cool and added less broth to cut down the time.