Roasted Cipollini Onions with Thyme

Roasted Cipollini Onions with Thyme are easily prepared. They are perfect as a vegetarian starter or as a great accompaniment to steak or poultry.

Pronounced chip-oh-LEE-knee, this is an Italian heirloom onion variety. Their name, in Italian, means “little onion”. Cipollini is a more uncommon variety of onion. I bought these from the Adelaide Central Market but I have seen them in good greengrocers and some supermarkets. Believe me, they are worth seeking out. Whilst more expensive than regular onions, they are worth paying a little more to have as an occasional treat.

The onions are a flat, saucer shape with thin, papery skins. These onions contain more natural sugar than regular white or brown onions. As such, I love to enhance their flavour by roasting. They caramelise beautifully. You will find the onions become incredibly soft and sweet. To balance the caramelisation I have added the savoury flavour of thyme.

To prepare the onions –

Firstly, it is necessary to peel them. To begin with, this can take a little more effort than a regular onion. (The thin, papery skins should be gradually eased off.) Toss the onions with fresh thyme and olive oil, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and roast in a hot oven until they’re tender.

I like to serve the Cipollini on a bed of rocket, drizzled with Balsamic Glaze and some fresh goat cheese. The mild acidity of the goat cheese beautifully complements the sweetness of the onions.  The addition of the Balsamic Glaze makes this a sophisticated dish. The resulting platter is aesthetically pleasing. The beautiful Cipollini, rich with caramelised flavour, sit on a bed of mildly bitter greens, the Balsamic Glaze is drizzled across and small cubes of fresh goat cheese are randomly scattered.

I adore this dish of caramelised onion sweetness; I think you will too.

Xx Alex and Faye

P.S. Love vegetables as much as we do? Give our Baked Stuffed Mushrooms a try!