When I see the phrase “sweet and sour” I always pause. My memory cuts in, and I can taste the sweet and sour pork from my favorite restaurant in the Chinatown of Portland in the 60’s. I suppose those little pork nuggets were sweet but it was the pucker-inducing sourness that made me devour them by the cardboard carton.
Later in life, I have learned the exceptional wonder of sweet and sour onions done Italian style. I found a lovely recipe recently in Anna Del Conte’s Gastronomy of Italy, and my version below is inspired by it. But, I’ve changed the recipe, really changed it. I wanted really sweet and really sour, so I’ve upped the ingredients to engender those flavor notes.
The picture does save me a thousand words or so. It’s an intense dish. I did use a pan far too shallow. You think the pan is messy? You should have seen the stovetop! Now, since Suzen likes, if not demands, a clean kitchen, I spent more time cleaning than cooking.
It’s worth every bite. These are intensely flavor packed. How to use them? As a side dish obviously. But you could offer them as a “big” tapas size app for a cocktail party. As wonderful as they are alone, they make a great component for salads and more. In a recipe to follow tomorrow, I concocted great empanadas with ham, and green chilies, and sour cream, and a couple of these onions chopped up. The onions were a lively and lovely contrast to the chilies.
In the picture, you see about one pound of onions, enough for 5 people as a smallish side dish. I suspect that you’ll find these onions so delectable that a bigger pan and more onions are what you’ll normally do. Same amount of cleanup time. Next time, I need to use a lid. See the notes in the recipe below.
Cipollini in Sweet and Sour Sauce
Yield: serves 4
Ingredients:
- 1 pound of cipolin onions
- 4 ounces [½ stick] butter
- 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
- 1 cup of water
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ cup red wine vinegar
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Additional water as necessary
Preparation:
Begin by peeling the onions. Fill a large sauce pan with water and bring to a boil. Drop the onions into the water and let them sit for about 15 seconds. Remove the pan from the stove and empty into a colander. Let the onions sit a minute, then one-by-one remove the skins, which should easily slide off. Do NOT remove the roots. If you do, you risk having the onions fall apart during the long cooking process to follow.
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and add the onions. Stir to mix.
Add the tomato paste to the cup of water and whisk to blend. Pour over the onions and stir to mix. Cook uncovered over medium heat for 30 minutes. Stir frequently to avoid burning, but be gentle for the onion become quite soft and will fall apart.
Add the sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low, and cook for another hour. Stir to avoid burning and you may need to add more water, too, to avoid a “dry out” and burning.
I did not cover the pan during this last hour of cooking, and I needed to add another full cup of water, plus I had splashing everywhere. A deeper pan, perhaps a lid that is not tightly sealed, would be a wise step here. With the lid, the cooking time will be shortened, so after about 30 minutes you should check for doneness. You want the onions soft, but not disintegrating.
Source: inspired by Anna Del Conte’s Gastronomy of Italy
Photo Information [top picture]: Canon T2i, EFS 60 mm Macro Lens, F/3.5 for 1/40th second at ISO‑1000