Delicious Balsamic Onions

Hi friends! The hubs has a crazy six day work schedule, and for us, Sunday is our day to run errands, rest, recharge, and recuperate! In short, it’s our favorite day, because it’s the most quality time we get to spend together. Another activity we enjoy is cooking and eating together! Actually, he does most of the cooking, but who’s counting? One of our go-to meals on Sunday evenings is what we call our “big salad”…it’s basically everything but the kitchen sink thrown onto a plate…tons of greens and veggies and everything good and healthy. One of our recent discoveries is Balsamic Onions. They’re the perfectly sweet and healthy touch to an otherwise boring salad.

We discovered these onions at a local olive oil  and vinegar shop. We Olive is my new favorite lunch spot, girls night out spot, or just chilling in the afternoon for no particular reason spot! My girls and I recently spent a lovely evening out on their patio, sipping wine and sampling items from their menu.

They not only offer a HUGE variety of oils and vinegars for sale in their shop, they also use their products in every single item in their menu. Genius marketing too, because I’m tempted to buy every single thing I taste, especially when I experience how yummy they are. They even offer discounts on refills of oils and vinegars when you reuse your bottles. The staff is so knowledgeable, and they take their time explaining the many uses and benefits of the oils and vinegars.

So getting back to our big salad and those onions. Many of the recipes in the restaurant feature pickled onions like these. They put them in salads and flatbreads and they are amazing! What I love about them is that they cut the harshness of a raw onion, mellowing it out into something that is sweet and delicious. We love them so much that we can’t have a salad without them anymore. I’ve even put them on homemade pizza and burgers. You can find one version of them here, but this version I’m going to share is so much easier!

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Step 1:

Using a very sharp knife, cut the peeled red onion in half, then slice it VERY thinly. The thinner the better! They’ll absorb the balsamic vinegar better. (Tip: ONLY use red onions, I’ve tried yellow and they tasted good, but looked hideous, and not at all appetizing. The red onion turns out so pretty! We eat with our eyes, after all. )

Step 2:

Place the sliced onions into your mason jar or covered container, making sure you have enough head room in the top of the jar to shake the onions. Don’t overpack them. Pour the Balsamic Vinegar of your choice over the onions, making sure they are covered, about a half a cup. Use more if you want! Won’t hurt! I’ve used both peach and strawberry vinegars, and had delicious results with both flavors. (Tip: You can serve the vinegar from the jar on your salad, along with the onions.)

Step 3:

Cover the onions and shake them well so that the vinegar has touched them all, anointing them with its deliciousness! Cover the onions tightly, and refrigerate, preferably overnight. The longer they process, the sweeter and more delicious they’ll become.

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We love these on salads, like I mentioned earlier. Our Sunday “Big Salad” as we like to call it, usually consists of mixed lettuces, kale, arugula, cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and goat cheese. We then add a protein, which is usually grilled chicken or steak, though we’ve done grilled salmon before too! Yummy! We place these onions on top of everything, making sure that there’s a generous splash of the pickled balsamic mixture too. A little swirl of olive oil and more balsamic to taste and BOOM, supper! Makes me hungry just thinking about it!

There you have it! Doesn’t get much easier than that, does it? I hope you make and enjoy this recipe! If you like it, can you do me a favor and pin this post on pinterest? I’d appreciate it! Thanks so much for taking the time to read my blog. Please leave a comment, I’d love to know what you think!