Sweet and Sour Onions

Side dishes

May 9

Yummmm…Anyone else out there love onions? And I’m not just talking about using them chopped up in a soffrito, but as the main star of a dish. This recipe is so easy to make and is a great side dish for various meals. The flavor is a complex arrangement that comes from boiling onions, and then slow-cooking them in honey, vinegar, and butter. I love to use bunching, or pearl onions for this dish because they boil so tender.

The Ingredients

Onions- Onions help to promote the circulation of Qi and Blood and are considered pungent in flavor and warming in temperature. Some onions are more warming than others though.
Honey- Honey is known to be tonifying for the digestive system, and is a great addition to recipes that need a bit of a sweet kick, without using refined sugars.
Vinegar- One of my favorite ingredients! For this dish, I used white vinegar, but rice vinegar or red wine would be delicious as well.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 pounds bunching or pearl onions
Dash of Sea salt
1 Tbsp. Olive oil
3 Tbsp. Butter ( you can sub. olive oil here if you wish)
3 Tbsp White wine vinegar, red wine vinegar, or rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. Honey

PROCEDURE

Rinse and peel the onions. You want to take off the top, papery layer. Slice off the roots and stem, and then the outermost layer.
Bring a saucepan to a rolling boil on the stovetop, and add salt and onions. Depending on how big your onions are, determine how long they need to boil, but around 5-10 minutes should suffice. Do not over-boil, they should be soft but not falling apart. Drain and set aside.
Place a medium-sized frying pan over medium heat, and add olive oil and onions. They will sizzle and begin to brown, turn a few times to allow them to brown all over. Add a dash more salt.
Meanwhile, In a small bowl, dissolve the honey in the vinegar by mixing thoroughly. Slowly add this mixture to the pan with onions and toss to coat.
Turn down the heat slightly and continue cooking the onions, the marinate will thicken into a delicious syrup. Once cooked, remove from heat and enjoy.
Onions can be enjoyed hot or room temp.