Balsamic Pearl Onions

September 10, 2016

Balsamic Pearl Onions Recipe | Delicious as a snack and perfect as a cocktail garnish | Fake Food Free

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. 

Balsamic Pearl Onions Recipe | Fake Food Free

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. 

Blood Mary Mix from Preservation & co, Sacramento, CA. | Gifts from the International Food Bloggers Conference | Fake Food Free

Bloody Mary with Balsamic Pearl Onions | Fake Food Free

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 Recipe | Fake Food Free

 

 

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. 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading! All images and content are the property of Lori Rice unless otherwise stated. Please do not republish full recipes and images without written permission. What is okay? Feel free to Pin images, share links to my posts or share the photo in a round up post with the title of this recipe and a link back to the post. Confused about copyright and food blogs? Here is some helpful information on Recipe Attribution. If you want to use a photo or full recipe, just ask. I’m sure we can work something out.

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. 

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  • Rosemary Mark September 14, 2016 at 4:51 pm

    Great idea with the Bloody Mary Mix. (Now I’m sorry I didn’t grab one of those in the swag!) Nice post.

    • Lori September 15, 2016 at 6:43 am

      Thanks! I kept forgetting to crack mine open! It really is a great mix.

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