Glazed Pearl Onions with Roasted Grapes

This is a pretty dish and the grapes are a surprise ingredient—they are almost hidden because they are the same size and color of the red onions so you don’t expect a squirt of grape juice in your mouth when you take a bite. Don’t let your guests in on the secret, just watch for the surprised looks. You can make it in less than an hour. It is delicious along side a slice of roast ham. The blanching and peeling of the onions is the only fiddly bit. Being a much lighter substitute for the traditional Thanksgiving creamed onions it is worth it. You might even start a new tradition!

The recipe calls for red pearl onions but since I couldn’t find the twenty I needed, I substituted a mixture of red, yellow and white.

Photo by Lucy Alexander

Ingredients:

• 20 pearl onions

• ¼ cup sherry vinegar

• ¼ cup dry white wine

• 1 tablespoon butter

• ½ teaspoon salt

• 1 cup seedless red grapes

Preheat oven to 425°

Blanch onions in a large pot of boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain and when cool enough to handle, peel off the skin, leaving the stem intact. Place in a cast iron or other oven-proof skillet along with butter, wine, salt, vinegar and a pinch of pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes on stove top, then place in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add the grapes using a large spoon to mix the liquid and glazed onions together. Cook another 3 to 5 minutes. Serve immediately.