This is one of those dishes where I want to tell you to stop everything and make these right now, but then I remember that I already said that this week, last week, the week before and a few other times in between. If I keep saying this, I’ll be like the girl who cried … cook! and nobody will take me seriously when a truly transcendent recipe comes across this page. Like today. So let’s just suffice to it so that this is a frighteningly good recipe and an excellent way to handle the early spring disappointment of a farmers’ market providing you nothing but onions and tubers. Instead you can caramelize shallots!
Now, I think we already know that caramelized onions are the bees’ knees but these are even more spectacular and that is because of the vinegar that is glugged in, which gives it a slight tang raising the sweet-salty butteriness to a “I will never eat anything else for the rest of my life” experience. And yes, there is a good bit of butter in this dish, enough that when I made it the first time a few years ago I skimped on it, the shallots stuck to the bottom of that pan and I was consumed with regret. Not this time, though. Rest assured that almost all of the butter stays in the baking dish, and does not cling to the shallots–and us, one hopes–in more than a barely-there layer.
But here is where I need to beg, no implore you to DO NOT DO what I did (and would have regretted had I a place in my psyche that was capable of feeling remorse over butter) which is to dip a single tine of your fork, or to even consider such an action, into that tangy buttery puddle in the bottom of the pan. This is a highly inadvisable action, as it will set off a trance-like reaction in which one must dip again, and again and instantly mute all thoughts of But This is Tremendously Unhealthy. Your safest bet is not to do this at all, even once.
And yes, I know that means it is exactly what you will now do, and I’m sorry. But you can’t say that I didn’t warn you.
Make Me Keep This Promise: My next post will be about Passover dessert recipes. I have so many in mind, it would unfair not to reel them off to you and try out at least one before this weekend. For those of you who don’t celebrate Passover, fear not, these desserts are worthy of a year-round repertoire.
One Year Ago: The Tart Marg
Caramelized Shallots
Adapted from Ina Garten
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
2 pounds fresh shallots, peeled, with roots intact
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons good red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Melt the butter in a 12-inch ovenproof* saute pan, add the shallots and sugar, and toss to coat. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, tossing occasionally, until the shallots start to brown. Add the vinegar, salt, and pepper and toss well.
Place the saute pan in the oven and roast for 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the size of the shallots, until they are tender. Season, to taste, sprinkle with parsley, and serve hot.
* If yours, like mine, is not ovenproof, it works to start this dish in your frying pan then scrape the shallots and sauce into a baking dish when it’s ready to go in the oven.
This looks amazing – I love shallots. What did you serve it with?
It could be a side for a meat or fish dish, however I think we just had it with… yeah, I can’t remember. But it was probably a salad and oh! Those purple potatoes, I think.
Me: “Hi Boss? I’m sorry, I can’t come to work today. The Smitten says I have to cook these shallots immediately.”
Boss: “Waahwahwawahwa?” (Charlie Brown teacher’s voice)
Me: “Smittenkitchen.com, Boss. Take a look.”
Boss: “Wahwwwahwahwa!”
Me: “Thanks, Boss! I knew you’d understand.”
but deb, i’d so eat the butter sauce…
anyway – these look wonderful
i mean, what’s not to like..
photos are killer
the butter would kill you faster though
or something
anyway, i digress
so ummm… deb…
DEB???
you promised black and white cookies
you prooooooomiseeeeeeeed
and everytime you post i wait
and watch
but no black and white cookies
i am holding my breath until you make them
starting NOW
i love shallots and always look for any excuse (like any is needed?) to use them in our dishes. this, however, looks heavenly.
and yes to the passover dessert recipes! i was going to make macaroons, but have been told that’s been taken care of. wahhh! so now i need another flourless idea. bring ’em on! :)
don’t listen to that black-white cookie plea. while well reasoned and passionate, that can surely wait until next week! :)
YUM. This dish looks amazing and right up my alley.
One question, though: it says to keep the roots in tact. When you serve them, do you just eat the shallots whole, roots and all?
I’ve made a recipe very similar to this from Barefoot Contessa. It was excellent. It’s been almost 2 years since I made it though and I think you’ve talked me into making it again.
As for the black-and-white cookies, they unfortunately keep getting pushed back among cooking priorities–esp. because I am the only one I know who likes them, so I get stuck with most of them. Nevertheless, David is sick of waiting for me to make them too, and says he’ll probably post about them himself when he gets back.
The first time I made them, I cut off the roots and they don’t stay together nearly as well. This time, I trimmed right down to them and made sure they were really clean (the third picture is from mid-way in the cleaning process). Once they’re caramelized, you won’t even realize you’re eating the stump!
I’m going to have to get elastic waist pants if I keep cooking your recipes.
This looks just fabulous. I think I’d put them on a baked potato.
The apple muffins were a huge hit yesterday morning, by the way!
um, I’m SO making these. YUM. Thank you!
These look so good! Beautiful photography.
Thanks. Now I know what’s for dinner tonight. Pork tenderloin and shallots. Definitely. I wonder how early we can eat? Oh, and Jami, Ina Garten IS the Barefoot Contessa.
It seems like everyone is going nuts over shallots recently. I’ve been meaning to find a good recipe with them in it, and since they’re the main ingredient here, this is perfect!
Hi Deb!
I make these every thanksgiving and every passover. I LOVE THEM. they are unstoppable with turkey/chicken and brisket! YUM.
I made your whole wheat apple muffins this AM and my husband is now RE in LOVE with me again. Thank you. haha.
Looking forward to passover- desperately need a good side dish for my menu if you feel like tackling that!
looks amazing…but gah, the butter! think it would taste alright, and not singe, with a reduced amount?
Yum. Shallots + Butter = Awesome
Samantha — I don’t think I’ll get to side dishes this week (though this one, like 99 percent of vegetable sides should be fine the way they are). However, if I were cooking very Passover-specific sides, I’d want to try out this Spinach and Matzo Pie because it sounds really good.
Emily — I tried it with less and it singed, as I mentioned, but perhaps you’ll have more luck.
Ok. I’ll make this tonight! :) See how easy it is to order us around? We are all so obedient!
I saw your pictures of these on Flickr this morning, and started salivating immediately. A friend of mine claims that whenever I tell her about a recipe that I love, it starts like this, “1st you caramelize some onions….” Cannot wait to make these!
Oh, and I totally thought of you and your brown butter last night. I made a recipe from Martha Stewart’s new “Cookies” book. Listen to this…Brown Butter and Toffee Blondies. OH. MY. GOD.
There’s never anything wrong with a bit (or a lot) of butter in a dish in my opinion, which is why I need to work out 6 times a week (I’m not saying I actually achieve that….). There is something about butter and onions (or shallots) isn’t there? Oh god, I want them. I don’t have shallots right now but I do have some very small onions. I can almost taste the natural sugars caramelising and oozing into that unctuous butter……
Oh my goodness – these are beautiful! If not immediately (the shallots did not look good at my store this week) I will be making these very soon! Thanks for posting :)
Would it be way too over the top to switch out the red wine vinegar for some balsamic? I just love balsamic and onion together (and separately!) but I suppose it could overwhelm the more delicate flavor of the shallot. Maybe I’ll just try them both!
You certainly could, but I think you’ll find that the red wine has just the right level of zing left in it once cooked down with butter and sugar. The balsamic might make it too sweet (for my tastes, at least).
Oh this looks great. I’m having a big dinner at my house in a few weeks and I think these will make a perfect side.
As for the Passover dessert, I’m excited. I made some matzo crack (chocolate caramel matzo crunch) which is highly addictive and dangerous to have in the house. Here’s the link if you are curious… http://thespottedapron.wordpress.com/2008/04/12/matzo-crack/
oh man…….ohhhmannnnn does that look GOOD
i have got to say that i love, love, love your enthusiasm for food. that post could have been about some food that i hate (although good luck finding one) and i would want to try it after reading your site. you rock!
This looks amazing, that bit about the fork is funny, I am thinking this would be great smashed on bread points for brushetta.
Please no passover deserts. There is a saying in my family (probably many families) “It tastes like Passover”
Before going to cedar I will be making pizza dough for the um-teenth time :o)
This looks delicious! Ina Garten is my favorite chef on Food Network. I made her recipe for green beans and shallots on Thanksgiving and it was pretty yummy. I have to say though, I found shallots to be pretty labor-intensive to peel.
I’ve seen so many recipes that require an oven proof saute/frying pan, and this recipe is the straw that’s breaking the camel’s back. Do you have any recommendations for this piece of equipment for this novice cook?
Interesting, I love caramelized onions, but never thought to do it to shallots. Sounds quite tasty, I bet these would go great on a pizza.
– The Peanut Butter Boy
I really have little cookware knowledge or expertise, but have liked all the All-Clad I have cooked on and we are planning on updating our nonstick cookware with it, piece-by-piece.
I love shallots and I love your blog. I am really looking forward to seeing how you keep your promise. You will probably change the way I think about Passover desserts forever!!
These do look amazing, but please do keep your promise, because I reeeeeeeeeally need a good Passover dessert recipe for this weekend!! I’ve already searched your blog for one, so I am beyond thrilled to hear that you’re planning to post several. Don’t let me down!
P.S. Long-time reader, first-time commenter.
I just made these on the spur of the moment with what I had– vidalia onion knobs and cider vinegar– and they were excellent. I will try the recipe as written next time. I used a cast iron pan, which worked perfectly. My husband and I were scraping the final drips of buttery sauce out of the pan with our fingers (well, OK, I was leading the charge on that one…). Mmmm…
Shallots are so underrated and this recipe appears to bring them into their glory. This dish is soooooo going on next weeks menu.
As far as oven proof pans go, is there any reason that you couldn’t use a cast iron skillet? I know it isn’t technically a saute pan, but I would consider it a frying pan…
Mmmm I bet this is fantastic on a crusty toasted baguette.
Yay! More shallot lovers abound :) Deb, these look delicious. If only I could stick my fingers in and grab a couple …
Delightful!! I’m a casual reader here and this was my first time making a recipe. I had to let them sit out a little too long and they cooled (the pork chops took longer than I had anticipated). Still, the delicate flavors were just right and I will definitely make them again. Plus, they made my house smell amazing.
I would have never thought of caramelizing shallots- what an excellent idea!
Molly had a recipe for vinegar-roasted shallots recently that I really-really loved, so now I’m keen to try your buttered-up version :)
oh those do look like the bees knees!
Oh dear lord woman, you are such a tease with that picure! You are killing me!
Also I wanted to let you know I passed along an award to you. I feel pretty confident that you have recieved it several times before..but you still deserve it :)
Check here for the info…
http://fieldsofcake.blogspot.com/2008/04/i-bestow-upon-theemy-ten-awardees.html
Thought I’d report, since I made these for dinner last night. I roasted a pork tenderloin until just barely pink inside, cut it into chunky slices, then dumped the finished shallots over all. It was fabulous! I used balsamic vinegar, and it was pretty sweet and not too tangy, but wow! My husband loved it. The shallots in my market were huge, so I cut a few of them in half witih no ill effects. The sauce from the shallots mixed with the juices from the pork made the whole thing moist and wonderful. Thanks for the idea!
I bookmarked this. I have no problem believing that this recipe is totally transcendent. I’m acquainted with the magic of *truly* caramelized sliced onions, and I love how easy it is to do these whole shallots in the oven.
I just made these for dinner and you are right: amaaaazing, and oh so simple. The Mister loved them. I did get caught licking buttery sauce from the serving spoon. (And for those who asked about pans: I used a cast-iron one from stovetop to oven, which worked perfectly.)
I have made these before and they are so, so, so, so, so, so good. Served them spooned over a tasty beef tenderloin and it was heavenly!
Alex – almost every pot worth having nowadays is ovenproof- I swear by my calphalon dutch oven which works well for this but even the calphalon pots they sell at target can go into the oven.
Or use a wrought-iron frying pan (its the only one i use after that nonstick scare).
Deb – peeling shallots is my LEAST favorite thing to do (after peeling garlic) but sometimes I think garlic is easier. I love shalots tho – any pointers on how to peel them?
Shilpa
Ooooooooooh. I’m sold.
A lot of Dutch ovens– including Calphalons, as I understood–have the issue of knobs that aren’t high-heat proof. (Staubs do not, hooray.) Not sure what the cutoff temperature is but it is best to check before setting them in a 400 degree oven.
Shilpa — I just run the tip of a paring knife very lightly down them and peel off the skin and outermost layer together. If two come off because I cut too deep, I do not fret. (For garlic, I just lightly smash the clove with the side of a knife, which breaks the skin, making it easy to pull them off it one piece.)
Sorry–meant Le Creuset, not Calphalon, whose Dutch oven lids I am unfamiliar with.
Almost anytime onions are called for, I may use shallots instead – I just love the flavor, more subtle, deeper, sweeter. Of course, almost any carmelized oniony thing will float my boat, truly. Hubby will love this, thanks.
i like to make caramelized onions with balsamic vinegaryum.
these look amazing. i will make them, and i can tell you right now, i will not heed your warning.
do you think i could do this with spring onions? i’m very into the spring onions lately.
Le Creuset lids are only good for up to 375 degrees per the manufacturer website but beware of ebay sellers trying to tell you that the lids are viable past that temperature.
Where has this food blog been all of my life. Or rather, where the hell have I been? For too long Foodtv.com has been my one stop shop website for anything food. I’ve found some jems here and there, and will undoubtedly check back to see if Ina has anything else I can get my hands on. But you know what? I’ve been missing out. Like big time. I love this site. The photos are beautiful, the writing witty, and the food? Well, I haven’t actually tried any of it yet, but if spending 2 hours (oh hell it was closer to 4 hours. My school work be damned!) copying down at least 15 Must Try Immediately recipes is any indication of how good the recipes look, than, well, I don’t know what. But I do know it will be glorious once the food is cooked. I am so excited!
They look absolutely yummy! I can’t wait to make them as I am a big fan of shallots. As always you tempt us with the most amazing dishes…thank you for sharing!
this sounds amazing–2 questions
1) we keep kosher, do you think this can be done with olive oil instead of butter?
2) about how many people would this serve?
thanks!!
Hi Amy — I haven’t made this with olive oil, so I can’t assure you it would work as well, but I think it is definitely worth trying. The sweet complexity really comes from the caramelization process; the butter just adds a (wonderful) richness. Do let us know how it turns out–I’m sure others are interested. As for servings, Ina Garten says six, but I think that really depends on how many each people want. The amount in the top photo is one pound of shallots, or a half-recipe, if that helps.
My fiancé and I made these a few months back after he gave me Ina’s Paris cookbook for Christmas. We fell in love with them and had them as a side to her scallop recipe found in the same book. They are wonderfully indulgent!
About the knob debate…was I supposed to cover them when they went in the oven? I didn’t and they were yummy.
Momcat — I forgot to mention that the recipe is unclear about this, but either way works. The shallots (as you noted) don’t dry out one bit if the lid is off.
I’m 2 days late to the shallot party, but so glad I came! I love unique onion recipes and this one looks fabulous. I have one of Ina’s cookbooks, but not the one with this recipe. While the woman does love her butter, most of her recipes turn out fantastic and I can always count on her books when I’m in a pinch. Definitely giving this a whirl over the weekend. Thanks for sharing!
I made braised onions a while back and absolutely loved it. I love the color on your onions.
http://lekkafood.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2008-02-16T15%3A11%3A00%2B02%3A00&max-results=5
hang on, so could i make this dish in a cast iron skillet?
olive oil update: I ended up using small onions instead of shallots because the shallots were only sold in those teeny-tiny mesh bags with 4 in each bag for about $1.50 each, so that was out. I used olive oil, and they turned out pretty well, though I’m sure the butter adds a certain–something–that you just can’t get from oil. Of couse, nobody at my seder ever got to find out about these great little onions (that took me hours to peel) because I forgot to serve them. I was terribly dissapointed when I found them in the oven at about 10 pm.
HOLY TREMENDOUS AWESOME.
Made these with steak tonight. Perfect.
Served these last night as part of a dinner for 10 and they went over HUGE. 2 lbs was just enough for everyone. I didn’t cover them in the oven and the sauce gets super thick. Great for entertaining because you can make ahead and reheat, and they’re delightfully exotic. $5 well spent!
These are AMAZING. I made them last night, but in the last stage of roasting, I did cut off the root so that they’d fall apart a bit. I served them over some roasted chicken with fresh lemon. HEAVENLY!!!
Nick, we’ve made this to put on pizza twice (the second round is cooking right now) and it. Is. Amazing.
Also, the leftovers make your sandwiches totally gourmet for the rest of the week.
Smitten Kitchen – how long do these keep in the fridge to be added to everything and anything I cook? I love caramelized onions of any variety but rarely take the time to make them because I worry they won’t last if I make a big batch.
I haven’t tried to reheat them before. I suspect it would work, though. If you try it, do let us–and other readers–know.
I have been here before! I remember drooling over these before! It’s such simple, delicious food – and photographed so very well.
Hi,
These came out great. But one question: you said the butter would remain in the pain and not stick to the shallots. What I had happen was that the sauce thickened a lot, till it was more gooey then saucy, and stuck to the shallots. Any thoughts on how to avoid this? I used an ovenproof saute pan and cooked for 30 minutes because they weren’t tender enough after 15 minutes.
This is my frist time making this dish and not too long ago i finished it and it was Awsome! It is really good over some rice and with more veggies. YMMMM…
Can I be honest a bit here? I say ‘meh’. Had it last night, was a big pain with peeling the shallots, and I thought the saute on the stove part was extraneous. I think one could do well using a traditional onion caramelization technique. Maybe it needs to be paired with something in particular, rather than just the roasted potatoes I had it with.
I made this last night and it was everything you said it’d be! I ate this alongside rosemary and garlic roasted chicken and coconut rice. Simply amazing. Had to exercise extreme restraint when it came to that addictive buttery sweetness at the bottom of the pan—it was more than fantastic, especially when the juices mixed up with the rice. My only problem was the sugar and butter didn’t combine well on the stove and remained a bit separated… maybe i did something wrong?
My boss makes these at work often, they are SO sweet and savoury. They are just .. awesome.
I made these today to bring to Thanksgiving dinner. They were a delicious addition to the meal. They are easy to make and quite tasty! Everyone loved them. I will make them often.
Holy moly! These are amazing. We had some steak and salmon last night and I made these as a side… so easy, so tasty!
Thanks Deb!
Made these last night and they were the most amazing thing ever. Showed up the rest of the meal!
I’m making the roasted tomatoes and chipollini onions tonight. I bought mini heirloom tomatoes and hope those will work just fine!
I’m in love!!
Cooked a Turkey last night and needed an new sidedish. These were amazing! These make everything better. The sauce was wonderful on roasted brussel sprouts.
These look great, and they’ll be on my menu soon. A question, though: I’ll be trying them out on just myself, and I’m wondering about cutting back the recipe. Like, if I just use 3 or 4 shallots, should I cut the rest of the recipe back that much, or go ahead with the full amounts for the carmelizing sauce? I’m thinking go with the full amounts, and have plenty of the finger-lickin’ sauce left over for other things…
Thanks!
Nick — No harm in having extra sauce but in general, when you halve a recipe, you halve everything. (But seriously, you will wish you made the whole amount. Trust me.)
Thanks, Deb, I think I’ll go with the full amounts for everything but the shallots.
Great blog, BTW! I followed the trail from the SoupAddict blog.
i’ve been meaning to make these ever since i saw the episode of barefoot contessa!
holy crap! You recently linked this recipe as one of your “On this day X years ago” links. I had forgotten about it, so I hopped over to see this post and realized that I read it when you originally put it up! I’ve been reading you for over two years now Deb!
Keep up the good work!
So after a month of dreaming about these… I finally made them last night… They were AWESOME…. Mouth Watering… I actually used only one pound of the shallots… cause my markets suck…. and one pound of pearl onions… These were incredible…. Really Amazing… I am a huge fan… and so is my boyfriends belly!
Adrianne
And we have decided to grow shallots in the garden to satisfy the craving
OMG. Tried this FINALLY. And LOVED IT! I tell everyone you MUST MUST MUST try this! So sweet and soft and tender. Mmmmm. I ate them for dinner with some asparagus that a roasted in the sauce this cooked in (which was delicious). Mmmmmmmmm!
Finding myself with some extra rendered fat lying around from cooking a pork belly, I used it in place of butter…we fought over the pan juices at the end, people.
Deb – If I’m roasting a chicken at 375 degrees, can I put these in that temperature and just cook them a little longer? Thank you!
So, in Perfect World, I realize that this recipe adequately serves 1: me.
But in I’m Planning A Dish For A Potluck Tonight World, how many does this serve as-is? Any harm in doubling it so all my friends will love me more? Thoughts on pouring it over chickpeas or couscous or bread so we all have extra reasons to eat the buttery bottom goodness?
Why did I not see this recipe when you first posted it?! I’m so glad that I stopped in today to check out Thanksgiving recipes because I am drowning in shallots from the CSA box. Will make this tomorrow and it will be on the table Thursday. Thanks, Deb!
cooking these to have with chorizo/bean casserole. thanks!
Thanks – this was a really excellent side dish, and so simple too. I am quite sad that there were no leftovers to have for lunch today.
When I die, bury me with this dish. If I didn’t finish it all before I kicked it.
You mentioned somewhere that you appreciate readers pointing out typos, so I thought I would mention that you wrote “overproof” instead of “ovenproof” in the note!
Thanks!
Hi
You dad introduced me to your website…I want to make everything..I started with this and your baked spinach…amazing….and love all your hints and comments. I am off to try your caramel cheesecake next!
I’m aggressively assigning everyone in my family dishes to make for Thanksgiving based on my experiences with said dishes and slowly but surely replacing our previously mediocre Thanksgiving dinner with a seriously amazing one. That said, I wonder if this could be a do-ahead? Perhaps roast them the day before and then just reheat in the oven the day of? Scheduling oven times on Thanksgiving day is one of my favorite challenges all year long…is that normal? Say yes!
Delicious! Our shallots were very big (they looked like onions!) and even cut in two, they took much longer (around 1 hr) to cook, but this had the delicious side effect of reducing the juices to a thick caramel. Yum. Parsley is a must to balance the über-rich flavours of the shallots.
Hi
To cover or not cover the shallots in the oven, that is the question: I assume not? I just braved WF the day before Thanksgiving to buy shallots: I can’t wait to try this!
This is the first time I followed a recipe from a food blog. I had so much fun making this as a side dish. Let me tell you they were a hit! They came out exactly like your photo! They were delicious and I think they are the new favorite side at Thanksgiving. I really can’t wait to try another one of your recipes. Thank you again!
I made this for Thanksgiving 2011 and it turned out beautifully. It was my favorite part of the whole meal. The shallots I bought were pretty big, so I increased cooking times accordingly and reached in the oven a few times to flip some of the shallots over. I used a heavy cast-iron skillet and it worked great on stovetop and in the oven. It was heavenly and the leftover sauce, I can shamelessly tell you, was dribbled over the rest of the meal!
Something went horribly wrong for me! I don’t know if it was because I used a cast iron skillet or because I used balsamic vinegar, but my (high end gourmet) balsamic turned into a blackened, burnt, tough tar-like substance. The shallots didn’t even get to absorb any of the flavor. I might try again with a cheaper, more vinegary red wine vinegar.
Balsamic could have been the problem.
Oh my! I just made these and they are delicious. I plan to use some of them on an egg croissanwich for breakfast in the morning. That is, if they last that long. Thank you for expanding my kitchen repertoire, Deb.
If I wanted to use cipollini onions in addition to the shallots, would that work too?
Hi Michele — I haven’t tried this with them so cannot attest to their relative cooking time. However, you might want to check out this recipe too and meet the directions halfway.
Egad. I just made a half recipe of this tonight as a test for Turkey day, and now I kind of want to hoard all the shallots I bought and make it several times over just for myself. Shallots? What shallots?
And no, I’m not going to cop to eating the leftover sauce out of the pan with a spoon. Nope.
I made these previously and they are delicious. Shallots are VERY expensive for me and I’d like to substite big chunks of onion: should work, no? Any advise? Thank you. I know it will be different, but can’t afford it.
Chandler — I don’t see why not. The only thing that might need adjusting is the baking time.
I read the review and did what you said. I dropped everything and made them. Fabulous
Good Morning,
Just wondering if these caramelized shallots will be a complementary side dish for grilled halibut. Ideas for saucing halibut if I serve together or would these work like a sauce?
Thank you – love your site!
Oh my god. As usual, amazing. Boyfriend immediately demanded that I make these again, and soon. They’re like candy! Will using less sugar (like 2 tbs instead of 3) effect the carmelization process? Mine were a little sweet.
I tried this and I was so happy that I did. I was surprised that I enjoyed it, I love onions but I wasn’t sure if I would be a fan of the vinegar. I’ve never been much for vinegar, but it must be the harshness of white distilied that I’m not a fan of. I happened to adore this with the red wine vinegar!
This was one of the best recipes I’ve ever tried from your website! We made these tonight and they tasted delicious, but we couldn’t get that beautiful red-orange color that showed up in your pictures, and we followed your steps carefully. I thought of adding paprika next time to improve the color, but I’m afraid that it will alter the taste. What would you suggest?
I may have almost burnt mine? It’s hard for me to remember exactly. What color were yours?
Mine looked white and yellow (probably from the delicious butter sauce). Should I have let them brown more in the saucepan? Would adding more red wine vinegar help?
I am intending to make this dish for Thanksgiving and while browsing in my neighborhood Asian market, I came across 1 lb.netted bags of tiny shallots…I was in heaven…perfect size for this dish! My mouth is watering as I write this :-)
I made these last year and they were delicious! Unfortunately, they made my house smell like onions for over a week. I can’t just give up and never have them again, so I will be attempting these on the bbq tonight. Wish me luck!
I ‘ve never tried something like this… But it look wooow… Thanks!
I had fewer shallots — less than a pound — and halved the ingredients for the sauce. It was a little thin, but they are delicious. I’ll try to get the ratio closer next time.
I also don’t like vinegar, but didn’t want to leave it out completely. I replaced the red wine vinegar with a smaller quantity of balsamic (really just a drizzle) and it’s fine. It wasn’t overly sweet and doesn’t have too much vinegar bite even for someone who doesn’t like vinegar.
I would never dip a fork into the tangy butter in the pan. No I would not. Of course that is because a fork would not hold the tangy butter from the pan bottom. Being a smart bottom feeder, I would instead be dipping a slice of home made bread into the tangy butter in the pan. . .
I made this tonight to serve alongside roast chicken. The shallots were absolutely perfect, and we poured the pan juices over the chicken, and just.. wow. This is so easy to make and tastes just fantastic.
I adore this recipe, and make it almost every time have shallots. However, I was wondering if you have any tips for peeling the shallots. It just takes FOREVER. Is there a kitchen hack to doing it more quickly?
None yet. I agree. And there’s always dirt and my fingers always look gross after. Anyway, my method isn’t anything special but I trim both ends and make a slit down the side to peel away the skin in one piece. If there are two small cloves inside, I then slit them too. Not terribly fast, but I can’t think of a more efficient way to do it.
I use the cipollini onion peeling method – pour boiling water over the shallots, let stand for a few minutes, then slip the skins off.
I didn’t have any red wine vinegar so I substituted balsamic. It was very tasty especially the leftovers the next day!
An oldie but a goodie! I made this last night because my winter farm share included several GINORMOUS shallots I needed to use up. We had it with rice (to pour the drippings on), sausages and a grated apple-radish, lemon, and parsley salad (to use up the rest of the bundle of parsley) and they were just as good as I remembered from making this in college a decade ago!
My weird mutant shallots were so huge I did quarter them, which was mostly fine, some of the outer layers just fell off while they were sauteeing (and then got very dark and caramelized and delicious)