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!
Roasted Cipollini Onion Crostini
Total time
1 hour 10 mins
Author: The Culinary Chase
Recipe type: snack
Cuisine: Italian
- 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!
3.3.3070
The post Roasted Cipollini Onion Crostini appeared first on The Culinary Chase.
Heather ChaseThe Culinary Chase was coined by my husband whilst in a coffee shop in Hong Kong back in 2006. We wanted something that would be a play on my last name and by the time we finished our coffee, the name was born. As long as I can remember I’ve enjoyed cooking. It wasn’t until we moved to Asia that I began to experiment using herbs and spices in my everyday cooking. Not only do they enhance the flavor of food but also heighten it nutritionally. Over the years, I began to change our diet to include more vegetables, pulses, whole grains and less red meat. Don’t get me wrong, we love our meat, just not in super-size portions (too hard for the body to digest). I always use the palm of my hand as a guide to portion control when eating red meat. If the meat is larger than my hand, I save that portion for another day. Also, if the veggies on your plate look colorful (think the colors of the rainbow) – red, green, yellow, orange etc. then you’re most likely getting the right amount of nutrients per meal. I post recipes that I think help maintain a healthy body. I use the 80/20 rule – 80% of the time I make a conscious effort to eat healthy and 20% for when I want french fries with gravy (poutine). Balance is the key and to enjoy life with whatever comes my way. Thanks for visiting!