Cipolline d'Ivrea

By John, 9 August, 2020
Region
Italy
Description

"Cipollini d'Ivrea"These braised onions from the northwestern foothills of the Alps are simple and delicious, especially since perfectly good pearl onions are available frozen year round.

Serve this with any meaty dish, especially those from the Piedmont and Lombardy regions, and substitute appropriate stock for the vegetable stock. On the other hand, you can make this vegan by following it as written and substitute the more oil for the butter. 

Yield
4 Servings
Preparation time
30 minutes
Ingredients
14 oz Pearl Onions
2 T Olive oil
2 T Butter (Unsalted)
1 Bay Leaf
1 pn Sugar
1⁄2 c Vegetable Stock
1⁄2 c Dry White Wine
Instructions
  1. Blanch the onions in boiling water for 4-5 minutes.
  2. Saute the drained onions with the bay leaf in the oil and butter for a few minutes, then add the sugar and the stock.
  3. Cook gently until the onions start to soften and gain some golden color.
  4. Add the wine and let it simmer and reduce.
  5. When the onions are soft, turn up the heat to reduce the liquid to almost nothing, and serve hot.
Notes

The town of Ivrea in Piemonte is known for its small, delicately sweet brownish-colored onions, which are the true Cipollini d'Ivrea. This dish made with them is popular far beyond the availability of those authentic onions, so in this country we use pearl onions (frozen are OK) with a pinch of sugar.

Source

Ada Boni, Italian Regional Cooking, also discussed in La Cucina from the Accademia Italiana della Cucina.