Friday Finds: Honey-Glazed Cipollini Onions

Today's Friday Finds recipe is for the first of two vegetable side dishes that I served with a roasted chicken for a late Easter dinner.  A few Christmases ago, Alex gave me a signed copy of chef Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc At Home cookbook. He knows me too well!  Thomas Keller is the acclaimed chef behind the famous The French Laundry in Napa (a visit is totally on my bucket list), so I was intimidated- to say the least- by the idea of trying one of his recipes in my own kitchen.  However, I was shocked by the simplicity of so many of the comfort food recipes in this book.

I ended up making not one, but two vegetable dishes featured in the book. I'll be sharing the other with you next week, but wanted to focus on this delicious onion recipe this week. I am a huge fan of cipollini onions. They are small and sweet and when roasted or caramelized they take on an amazing soft consistency.  This recipe is actually very hands off and and easy to prepare and I can imagine these onions would make a great side dish for a variety of meats-- like with a grilled steak or some broiled fish.  I will definitely be making these again!

Ingredients:

• 1-1/4 1b. cipollini onions (about 14), about 2-inches in diameter
• 1 Tbs. canola oil
• 2 garlic cloves, lightly crushed, skin left on
• 4 thyme sprigs
• 1 Tbs. honey
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• Kosher salt and freshly ground block pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Peel the onions. Cut off the top of each onion to create a flat surface for browning. Trim the root ends. If any of the onions are noticeably larger than the rest, peel off an outer layer so that they are closer to in size.

Heat an oven proof frying pan large enough to hold the onions in a single layer over medium heat. Add the canola oil and heat until warm.

Add the onions cut-side down and cook until browned, swirling the pan from time to time for even browning, about 6 minutes. Turn and cook to lightly brown the second side, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme, and honey to the pan. The honey will bubble up; once it stops, add the chicken stock and swirl the pan to incorporate. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring just to a boil.

Transfer to the oven and cook for 15 minutes, or until the onions are tender and the liquid has reduced to a thick glaze. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Transfer the onions to a serving dish and spoon the glaze over the top.