What do you get when grilled baguette slices (crostini) and roasted cipollini onions come together? Answer: a heavenly snack that’s so easy-to-make and ridiculously delicious! Cipolini (chip-oh-LEE-nee) onions are small and flat.
The word in Italian means little onion and are sweeter than the average yellow or white onion. I have seen them in food shops and always passed by them – in my mind they were just too small to make anything with until the other day. I’m a big fan of grilled onion slices. You know the kind that caramelize and become so tender and juicy. I wanted a smaller onion that would fit nicely onto a crostini. With this in mind, I was at the grocery store on Saturday and spotted a bag of cipollini onions. This time I wasn’t judging a book by its cover.
Roasting cipollini onions made me one happy cook – it doesn’t take much! A splash of olive oil, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper…simple ingredients produced the most amazing aromas in the kitchen. Roasting brings out the natural sugars and paving the way for one hell of a caramelized onion. What you end up with is an onion that melts in your mouth revealing its sweet and mild taste. Eureka!
Serves 2 to 4
1 lb. cipollini onions, ends cut and skins peeled
extra-virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
aged balsamic vinegar (break out the good stuff!)
baguette, sliced
Preheat oven to 350f. On a baking tray add onions and add a splash of olive oil. Toss to coat and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast 30 minutes then turn over and roast for a further minutes. Cooking times may vary so keep an eye on the last 15 minutes. Remove from oven and drizzle balsamic vinegar over onions.
Get the crostini ready by lightly brushing or spraying olive oil over the slices and grill until lightly browned. Remove from heat. If you don’t have a bbq, use a toaster. To assemble, place 1 or 2 cipollini onions on a crostini and smear to cover. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and dig in straight from the baking tray!
The Culinary Chase’s Note: Slice a peeled garlic clove and rub the surface of the crostini while still warm before adding cipollini onions. I made this twice over the weekend it was that good. Enjoy!
- 1 lb. cipollini onions, ends cut and skins peeled
- extra-virgin olive oil
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- aged balsamic vinegar (break out the good stuff!)
- baguette, sliced
- Preheat oven to 350f. On a baking tray add onions and add a splash of olive oil. Toss to coat and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast 30 minutes then turn over and roast for a further minutes. Cooking times may vary so keep an eye on the last 15 minutes. Remove from oven and drizzle balsamic vinegar over onions.
- Get the crostini ready by lightly brushing or spraying olive oil over the slices and grill until lightly browned. Remove from heat. If you don’t have a bbq, use a toaster. To assemble, place 1 or 2 cipollini onions on a crostini and smear to cover. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and dig in straight from the baking tray!
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