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.
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.