Sweet and sour onions are a simple and tasty side dish, perfect to enjoy with any main course of meat or fish. You can also serve them during an aperitif with friends or for a party buffet.
In our recipe we used onions with a typical flattened white bulb; once soaked in cold water, to make them even more digestible, they are cooked in a casserole with butter, shallot and sugar, then blended with white wine vinegar. The result is a dish with a pleasant contrast of flavors, ideal for all occasions and combinations.
Quick and easy to make, this dish can be enjoyed warm or at room temperature. You can also make it ahead eat it the next day, the rest will further intensify the flavors and aromas. Versatile and tasty, sweet and sour onions can also be added to an egg omelette or used to fill a nice sandwich or hamburger.
You can also make this recipe with another type of onion, such as red, golden or classic white.
You can replace sugar with good quality wildflower honey and butter with extra virgin olive oil.
Flavor your onions by adding bay leaves, black peppercorns, cloves, sprigs of rosemary, fresh chili and, for the more daring, even fresh ginger, peeled and grated.
Sweet and sour onions can be stored in the refrigerator, in a special airtight container, for 2-3 days. Freezing is not recommended.
Peel the onions and soak them in cold water for at least half an hour (1).
Transfer the butter to the saucepan (2).
Add the shallot, peeled and thinly sliced (3).
Fry it gently (4).
At this point, add the granulated sugar (5).
Let it melt gently together with the sauté (6).
Add the onions, well drained and dried, (7) and then mix well.
Pour in the vinegar (8).
Cook the onions for about 20 minutes, over medium-low heat (9).
Once cooked, turn off (10) and let them cool.
Transfer them to a serving dish and serve (11).