Glazed Onions

Cipollette Glassate

Tender spring onions, slowly cooked and coated in a sweet and sour glaze flavored with aromatic herbs.

4 servings

Easy

Glazed onions are a sweet and sour side dish, designed to complement a meal with a bold yet balanced flavor. The natural sweetness of the onions is enhanced by the sugar and balanced by the wine vinegar, while the aromatic herbs add fragrance without overpowering the vegetable's flavor. Slow cooking is the key to this recipe: it allows the onions to become soft and juicy while preserving their shape. The ideal result is a thin, glossy sauce, thick enough to coat each onion. It's a simple dish, best served piping hot, while the glaze is still runny and fragrant. This recipe is a classic Italian dish.

Instructions

Voice reading

5 steps · natural Italian voice

Clean the onions

Clean the onions thoroughly, removing the unusable outer parts and trimming the bases without breaking them. Leave them whole, so they'll better hold their shape during cooking and absorb the aromas of the herbs evenly.

Start cooking

Pour the olive oil into a shallow pan and add the onions, salt and the bunch of aromatic herbs. Bring the shallow pan over low heat and let it cook slowly: the onions should soften without turning dark.

Add the seasoning

Combine the sugar, wine vinegar, a pinch of pepper, and a little water. Pour the liquids with the shallow pan already hot, so distribute them on the onions to promote even cooking and create the sweet and sour base of the glaze.

Let the icing thicken

Mix gently and continue cooking over low heat until the bottom thickens. The dish is ready when the liquid thickens and coats the onions with a glossy texture, while the vegetables are tender but still whole.

Serve very hot

Turn off the heat Once the glaze has thickened, spread it over the onions. Serve hot, keeping the sweet and sour flavor and the aromatic herbs that flavored the cooking process on the plate.

Chef's Tips

The editors recommend keeping the heat low during cooking, so that the onions become tender without burning and the sweet and sour liquid concentrates into a glossy glaze.