Braised Cipollini Onions with Dried Cherries
on Nov 01, 2019, Updated Mar 15, 2024
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Cipollini in Agrodolce is a wonderful sweet and sour preparation for these charming little onions.
While we were prepping these onions (and by prepping them I mean peeling the skins off each individual small onion), I thought, “This dish had better be good.” It’s not exactly a favorite kitchen task, peeling onions. I am very grateful when someone is willing to do it for me.
Spoiler alert: YES, this dish is very delicious, and erased any cipollini (or cippoline, both correct, I think) peeling peevishness that lingered. It was so good, in fact, that Mandy (my part-time kitchen right hand and a talented chef and food stylist in her own right) and I ate large portions of the onions on their own as the day went on, and then split the leftovers to pair with something else later in the week. Or just be lunch. Either way.
Table of Contents
A wonderful sweet and sour preparation for these charming little onions.
Tweet This
Recipe Variation
I used dried cherries because that’s what I had and they are my favorite of the dried fruit family (again, I think), but you can use dried cranberries if you wish. They’re cheaper and ubiquitous. And another time I might use those little pearl onions instead of cipollini onions, which will be a bigger pain the butt to peel, but would look super cute.
What to Serve With Braised Cipolline Onions
These tiny braised onions make a holiday table look very holiday-ish. And they go with EVERYTHING. Well, maybe not a stir fry, but almost anything to you would serve for the holidays, and more. Roast beef, turkey, chicken, you name it, these delicious onions with elevate the dish for sure.
Pair These Onions With
- Roast Eye of Round Beef with Thyme and Rosemary
- Fall-Apart Roasted Pork Shoulder with Rosemary, Mustard and Garlic
- Pan Seared Pork Chops with Marsala and Mushroom Cream Sauce
- Herbed Boneless Leg of Lamb with Mustard Crust
- Grilled Provencal Chicken and Peppers
- Chicken Marsala
Pin this now to find it later
Pin It
Braised Cipollini Onions with Dried Cherries
Ingredients
- ¼ cup dried cherries (dried cranberries or raisins)
- ½ cup hot cider
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound cippolini onions (peeled and halved)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper (to taste)
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
Instructions
- Place the dried fruit in a small bowl and add the hot cider to cover. Set aside.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onions, season with salt and pepper, and sauté, stirring only occasionally, for 8 minutes or so until they are caramelized in spots and starting to soften. Add the dried fruit with the cider, vinegar, and sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook until the sauce thickens and glazes the onions, about 4 minutes. Serve hot.
I used Angry Orchard Hard Cider and it came out fine. Was that what you used?
I used regular cider, but I bet it was fantastic with hard cider