Italy Part 4

Roasted balsamic onions (p. 98)
This was an afternoon project last week, thinking it would be nice to have a cold jar of sweet roasted onions in the fridge for easy snacking. What a strange, but simple recipe I will make again!

The recipe requires small "pickling onions" ranging from 0.75 oz
to 1.25 oz, shown above.  I could only find onions of similar
description labeled, "boiler onions."
Aren't they the cutest bulbs you've ever seen? 

The best part of this recipe is that
you don't have to peel them! You just throw them into
a baking dish and then throw them into a preheated
oven (315 degrees F).  I spent the whole hour and a half
roasting processes nervous that I was going to have
an oven full of flaming onion balls, but in the end
I guess the paper exterior isn't flammable. Whew!

While the onions were roasting, I made the marinade
(the jar in the front). It consisted of mixing together
good quality balsamic vinegar with a spoonful of soft
brown sugar. I'm not exactly sure what "good quality"
balsamic vinegar means, but I chose an Alessi's brand
specifying Aceto Balsamico di modena aged 4 years in wood.
After the sugar is dissolved in the vinegar, add the olive oil
and shake the jar like crazy to get a homogenous solution.
I find it helpful to sing Outkast,
"Shh shake it, shake, shh shake it... shake it like a polaroid picture..."

Roasted and ready for peeling!
I had one fatality out of the bunch (upper right corner).
Cause of death: explosion.  

Now for the peeling process. This was actually fun because it was like unwrapping tiny pearls hidden in ugly, sticky wrapping paper. When I first pulled them out of the oven, I thought I had overcooked them beyond repair. The seemed deflated and burned. However, under the tattered peels, there lies unharmed soft, white onions waiting to be... eaten!

An example of how ugly they look at first. But...

... peel the layers away and.... 

... you find a beautifully cooked mini onion.
Sweet and juicy and ready to eat (or for marinating as this recipe calls for).

Place all of the peeled onions in a sterilized jar.
To do this, rinse with boiled water and let dry in a warmed oven.
I used my kettle (to the right) for easy-to-pour hot water, timing it so that
I could place the jar into the oven right after removing the onions.  

Add your marinade after another few quick shakes and then let it
rest in the refrigerator until the next day. The recipe says that at
this point, these onions remain good for three weeks.
Reminder: give the jar little shakes if the marinade separates
with time (oil can be so mischievous)!

Picture perfect :)
Serve along side a fresh salad, crispy crackers and soft cheese.