I’ve posted photos of these pear-infused balsamic glazed onions on Instagram a few times and people seem to love them! If you’ve read other recipes and posts of mine, you’ll know that Alessi Pear Infused White Balsamic Vinegar is my all-time favorite! It’s an ingredient I picked up from cooking in my MIL’s kitchen when they had the lake house up in Michigan. I miss that house so much. She always had a bottle or two in the pantry. It’s like regular balsamic but sweeter and a bit milder, with a kiss of pear flavor. If Alessi ever stops making this, I’ll have to infuse my own white balsamic!
Update: I can’t find Pear Infused White Balsamic Vinegar so now Alessi Raspberry Blush White Balsamic Vinegar is my new favorite!
I really love these onions, but roasting onions seems to take a while to get them nice and tender. So I recently started pre-cooking them for just a couple of minutes in the microwave to speed up the process. The onions get tender much more quickly. The glaze gets plenty thick, but I’d imagine you could use a spatula and remove the onions and set them aside, and let the glaze reduce further on high heat for a few minutes. Just be careful! Burnt sugar and vinegar are terribly bitter!
When you make these, resist the urge to add more vinegar or omit the water. If you use too much vinegar, they get really sour. I find the splash of water, and a combination of balsamic and white vinegar together is perfect!
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As for the onion, I just tried this recipe with a slice of red onion. OMG, I highly recommend it! Serve up a slice of each, red onion and a sweet white onion or Vidalia. The red doesn’t get quite as sweet, but served next to the Vidalia onion, wow…
Pear or Raspberry Infused White Balsamic Glazed Roasted Onions
Equipment
- roasting pan If you want these on the table in a half-hour use a microwave-safe pan and a *disposable roasting pan, or even make a tray out of nonstick foil
- small bowl For marinade
- oven, broiler or grill.
- microwave Optional
Ingredients
- 2 Vidalia onions Yellow or red onions will work.
- 4 tbsp butter Olive oil can be used, however, butter is best!
- 4 tbsp Alessi Pear infused white balsamic vinegar Pear infused is great, but regular balsamic, red, or cider vinegar is fine. White balsamic looks best, in my opinion. If you can't find pear-infused, try Raspberry Blush White Balsamic.
- 2 tbsp White vinegar Any white vinegar, or rice wine vinegar.
- 2 tbsp water
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- ⅛ tsp pepper Black or white pepper, to taste.
- ⅛ tsp salt
- ½ tsp herbs Optional – rosemary and/or thyme are perfect!
- ½ tbsp olive oil Optional – drizzle additional over onions when serving.
Instructions
- Use one tbsp. of butter, grease the roasting pan, sides and bottom. Or line with non-stick foil.Preheat your oven to 450°F
- Combine water, both vinegars, seasoning, olive oil, and sugar in a small bowl. Stir to combine.
- Slice onions in even slices, about 1/2 inch thick. (Thinner will cook faster, but fall apart more.)
- Add onions in a single layer to the pan and spoon marinade over them or flip the onions to coat. *If microwaving to speed up cooking, butter the bottom of the microwavable dish, (they can overlap a bit) and pour some marinade over. The photos shown are for half a batch. Microwave the onions for two minutes and spoon the marinade from the bottom of the pan over the tops of the onion slices. Microwave for another minute or two or until they start to soften.
- If you are using fresh herbs, reserve some for garnish and sprinkle some on the onions.
- These can marinate overnight or be cooked right away.
- When ready to roast, place them in a single layer in the roasting pan. Slice the remaining butter so that each onion slice has a dab of butter on top.(You can omit the butter and drizzle more olive oil, but butter is worth it!)
- Roast the onions in a 450°F oven until they are soft and the marinade has thickened to a shiny glaze. Baste after ten minutes.From raw, they will probably take about 30-45 minutes. Keep an eye on them because if the glaze burns it will get bitter. Be careful, the sauce will be hot like lava! Once the onions are tender and the sauce is thick and sticky, they are done.Be sure to check them and spoon over the marinade periodically. If using pre-cooked, microwaved onions, they will take about 25 minutes. The sauce/glaze will thicken some as it cools a bit. Be careful, it's as hot as lava!
Notes
Nutrition
I haven’t tried this recipe with all white vinegar and white sugar, but I bet it would be really good too. Maybe with a drizzle of honey? Maybe a pinch of Parmesan to finish?
If you try the recipe please rate it to support my blog! Or comment and let me know how you liked it!
YUM! And they are beautiful, to boot.
Thanks! The red one is sooo pretty!