Pickled Cipollini Onions in Sherry

Submitted by dicentra

"I can find Cipollini onions at Trader Joes.Cooking Light, SEPTEMBER 2003 "Serve these traditional English-style sweet-sour-spicy pickled onions as a first course with cheese, sliced or chopped in a salad, or thinly sliced and heated with a ribeye steak. Boiling the onions in salted water keeps them crisp. Let them sit a month to absorb the subtleties of the pickling liquid. Keep the spices whole to prevent clouding and sediment.""

 

• Ready In: 30mins
• Ingredients: 13
• Serves: 16

ingredients

• 2 cups water, divided
• 1⁄3 cup kosher salt
• 1 lb peeled cipollini onion (or pearl onions)
• 1 cup sherry wine vinegar
• 1 cup malt vinegar
• 1⁄2 cup cream sherry
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons mustard seeds
• 1⁄2 teaspoon fennel seed
• 1⁄2 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 1 dried hot red chile
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 fresh rosemary sprig

directions

1. Combine 1 1/2 cups water, salt, and onions in a bowl. Cover mixture and refrigerate overnight.
2. Combine 1/2 cup water, sherry vinegar, malt vinegar, cream sherry, brown sugar, mustard seeds, fennel seeds, peppercorns, and red chile in a nonaluminum saucepan, and bring mixture to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Remove mixture from heat, and let stand 1 hour.
3. Drain onions. Rinse onions and pat them dry. Add onions to the vinegar mixture, and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat, and simmer mixture for 3 minutes. Place onions, bay leaves, and rosemary in hot jars; cover onion mixture with hot vinegar mixture, leaving 1/4-inch head space.
5. Cover jars with metal lids, and screw on the bands. Cool completely. Refrigerate onions at least 1 month before serving.