Recipes › Onion (Bulb) › Venetian Sweet and Sour Onions — Cipollini in Agrodolce
Venetian Sweet and Sour Onions — Cipollini in Agrodolce
Agrodolce is one of the great flavour combinations of Italian cooking, and small whole onions cooked this way are a revelation — silky, intensely savoury, and balanced between sharp and sweet. This Venetian classic uses red wine vinegar and a little sugar to create a glossy, sticky coating that turns the onions into something you could eat straight from the pan. Serve them as a side to roast pork or beef, or pile onto bruschetta for a stunning antipasto.
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Ingredients
- 900 g Onion (Bulb), small pickling-size onions or shallots, peeled and left wholeif using larger bulb onions, quarter them through the root so they hold together
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 80 ml red wine vinegarcontains sulphites
- 30 caster sugar
- 100 ml dry white winecontains sulphites; substitute with extra stock if preferred
- 150 ml vegetable stock
- 2 fresh rosemary, sprigs
- 2 bay leaves
- ¾ tsp fine sea salt
- ½ tsp black pepper, freshly ground
- 15 g flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped (optional)
Contains: sulphites.
Method
- To peel the onions easily, score a cross at the root end of each one and drop them into a bowl of just-boiled water for 2 minutes. Drain, then the skins will slip off cleanly. Pat dry.About 5 min
- Heat the olive oil in a wide, heavy-based frying pan or sauté pan over a medium-high heat. Add the onions in a single layer and cook without moving for 4 minutes until they develop a golden-brown crust on one side. Turn and colour the other side for another 3 minutes.About 8 min
- Add the white wine — it will hiss and steam. Let it bubble hard for 2 minutes to cook off the alcohol.About 2 min
- Add the stock, red wine vinegar, caster sugar, rosemary, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Stir to dissolve the sugar, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover with a lid and cook for 15 minutes until the onions are completely tender when pierced with a knife.About 15 min
- Remove the lid, increase the heat to medium-high and cook for a further 8 to 10 minutes, turning the onions occasionally, until the liquid has reduced to a thick, glossy glaze that coats the onions. Remove the rosemary sprigs and bay leaves.About 10 min
- Taste and adjust — if it needs more acidity add a splash more vinegar; if it tastes too sharp add a pinch more sugar. Scatter with parsley if using and serve warm or at room temperature.About 1 min
Tips
- Do not rush the final reducing stage. The glaze should be thick enough to coat a spoon — if it is still thin and watery, the onions will taste stewed rather than glossy and intense.
- This dish is genuinely better the next day once the onions have sat in the agrodolce glaze overnight. Make it ahead if you can.
- The balance of sweet to sour is personal. Taste as you go in the final step — some people want a sharper result, others prefer it sweeter.
Ring the changes
- Add 60g of raisins and 30g of pine nuts (check for nut allergy) in step 4 for a Sicilian-influenced version that is sweeter and more complex.
- Use balsamic vinegar in place of red wine vinegar for a darker, more molasses-like finish — reduce the sugar to 15g as balsamic is sweeter.
Keeping it
Keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. The flavour improves significantly after 24 hours. Reheat gently in a pan with a splash of water, or serve at room temperature.
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