I'm in love with cipollini onions. They're sweet and oniony and oh so delicious. Sure they still make tears come pouring from my eyes, but man are those tears worth it, especially this recipe. This is another one from a cookbook I've come to love, Simply Organic by Jesse Ziff Cool. The recipe is inspired by a dish by the chef at Union Square Cafe, a place I've yet to visit, but after tasting these amazing onions I might just run there. They are rock-your-world good.
The author mentions that the chef of Union Square Cafe, Michael Romano, made these for her at his home and that they were the most memorable part of the meal. When I first read that I though hmm, that seems a little strange in that they seem more like a side kick to a main dish, but after making them along with a host of other delightful things, they really do stand out. In fact I can't get them off my mind.
The preparation is pretty straight-forward and they really don't need too much attention, just a peek here and there to see how much the liquid has reduced. I even pushed these little guys by cooking them until the liquid had reduced to the correct amount, turned off the heat until my other dishes were ready, then reheated them and added the last ingredients to finish them off.
The result, if you haven't guessed by now, is amazing. I never thought I'd be a fan of eating whole onions (even tiny ones) but after eating two I started eying other plates to see if I could steal one from a dinner guest. They are reduced to a tender, sweet, rich and complex piece of goodness. They begin to lose common onion characteristics and become almost dessert-like. And the sauce, that stuff is like crack. We all found ourselves pushing everything on our plate into the sauce because it made everything taste better. You have to try these... I promise you, you're going to love them. PROMISE!
port-braised cipollini onions
from Simply Organic
1 cup ruby port*
1 Tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
1 cup vegetable or chicken broth
8 oz cipollini onions
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
pinch of red pepper flakes, optional
1
Combine the port, thyme and 1/2 cup of the broth in a large skillet over high heat.
2
Add the onions and bring to a boil.
3
Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the onions are very soft. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of broth when all the liquid evaporates.
4
When the onions are cooked, you should have 1/4 cup reduced sauce. If you have more sauce, uncover and simmer over medium hear until reduced to 1/4 cup.
5
Add the brown sugar, butter, salt and pepper flakes (if desired) and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes.
*I ended up using 1/4 cup port and 3/4 cup brandy because I ran out of port. Still delicious!

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June 4th, 2009 at 8:43 am
Oh, I believe that these are awesome. I’ve done mario batali’s balsamic-glazed cipollini onions, and they were tremendous…
June 4th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
Oh yes! I am not an onion fan, but the first time I tasted cipollinis I was totally sold. I have that cookbook and somehow missed that a delicious recipe for these was in there. Gorgeous shots as always.
June 5th, 2009 at 9:16 am
I love onions. Fried, roasted, pickled or braised. This looks amazing.
April 6th, 2010 at 9:33 pm
I love onions. Fried, roasted, pickled or braised. This looks amazing. sf