Sweet and Sour Pearl Onions

Agrodolce’ refers to anything sweet and sour! Used as an appetizer it whets the palate to begin the meal, used as a condiment or side dish it creates balance against richer food that may otherwise be missing.

Difficulty

Beginner

Yield

Serves 8

Ingredients

1 ^1/2 pounds pearl onions or shallots1 garlic clove2 tablespoons olive oil Salt1 heaped tablespoon sugar Red wine vinegar

Equipment

Measuring spoonsMixing bowls of various sizesLarge frying panCutting boardChef's knifeTasting spoonsDish towel

Gather your mise en place; get together all of the equipment needed for the recipe and gather your ingredients.

Peel the onions and soak them in cold water for 4 hours, then drain them. Chop two of them very finely along with the garlic

Preheat the frying pan over medium-low heat. Place the olive oil and cook the onions and garlic.

Once the chopped onion and garlic are soft, golden, and translucent, add the rest of the whole onions, stirring so that they are all well coated with oil.

Sprinkle with salt and sugar, then almost cover them with a mixture of half water and half vinegar – the amount will depend on the size of your pan.

Bring to a boil, then By applying heat and evaporating the water content you are decreasing in volume and concentrating flavour.reduce the heat to a simmer. Half cover the pan and leave it to bubble gently for about 2 hours, turning the onions every now and then. They’re ready when all the liquid has evaporated and the onions are very soft, sitting in dark, shiny, sticky sauce.