I was browsing the Whole Foods salad bar the other day when I came across balsamic marinated Cipollini onions. Balsamic and onions are two of my favorite things so I dropped one in my to-go box. One bite and I wish I had taken 3 (or 10) more.
These onions are not new, and neither is the idea to glaze them in a balsamic-based sauce, but this was most certainly a new thing to me. Sweet and tangy, I just can’t get enough of them.
Given that I could snack on these all day, I decided to try my own version with pearl onions.
The process is super simple and the pearl onions turned out just as delicious as the Cipollini that I first tried.
I let mine chill in the fridge. Since they have butter in the sauce, this can cause the sauce to solidify a bit. If this isn’t to your liking, be sure to let them come to room temperature before serving, or reheat them in a saucepan.
In addition to serving these little bit size onions as snacks, they make the best Bloody Mary garnish. When I was in Sacramento at the International Food Bloggers Conference we received a jar of Blood Mary mix from Preservation & co.
You know I usually prefer to make these kind of mixes myself, but this stuff gave me a great reason not to. It is loaded with all kinds of tasty, real-food ingredients.
We made ourselves some excellent Bloody Mary cocktails with the mix over the Labor Day weekend. Then we topped them with a couple of the balsamic pearl onions. Perfect. Cheers!
Balsamic Pearl Onions
Makes: 2 cups
What you’ll need:
2 tablespoons raw sugar
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup low-sodium vegetable stock
1/8 teaspoon fine ground sea salt
10 oz. peeled pearl onions (about 2 cups)
How to make it:
Place the sugar and water in a medium sauce pan. Heat over medium-high, stirring often, until the sugar dissolves. Continue to stir as the syrup comes to a simmer. Cook for 90 seconds. Remove from the heat. Stir in the butter and balsamic vinegar.
Return to pan to medium-heat. Add the stock and salt. Bring to simmer and add the onions. Partially cover the pan with a lid and reduce the heat to maintain a very low simmer. Stirring occasionally, let the onions cook about 55 minutes, until tender.
Transfer the onions and balsamic glaze to a heat safe pint jar. Cover with a lid and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Enjoy chilled, allow to return to room temperature or reheat in a saucepan, if desired, before serving.
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I received the Bloody Mary mix in this post free of charge at the International Food Bloggers Conference in July. As part of my accepting a discounted attendance fee, I agreed to post about the event and products received there.
Great idea with the Bloody Mary Mix. (Now I’m sorry I didn’t grab one of those in the swag!) Nice post.
Thanks! I kept forgetting to crack mine open! It really is a great mix.