Are you looking for a smashing and creative vegetable side dish for Thanksgiving or Christmas this year? Then I have just what you need: red oven roasted onions with port wine!
For these roasted red onions you first have to poach the red onions in a sweet port wine, then grill them until they are soft and smooth. A little sprinkle of fresh thyme to garnish them… This is an ideal vegetable side dish!
I once baked sweet onions.
This time I made roasted red onions because I love onions as a vegetable side dish! I want them to be super smooth and soft on the inside.
So what I do is poach them before roasting.
And why not add some sweet port wine to the poaching liquid instead of using water or stock only?
Roasted Red Onions with Port Wine
I still had an almost empty bottle of red port wine in my pantry.
So I decided to add the port wine to the poaching liquid. I have to admit that this was more like a last minute idea, but one that worked out just fine!
And besides the sweet flavor, the onions are also a lovely light red almost pink color. A very pleasant surprise I must say!
Don’t you have port wine in your pantry?
Then you can also add red wine if you like. You might want to add just a sprinkle of sugar as well to make the poaching liquid a tad sweeter.
The red wine itself can be bitter.
Port Wine vs. Red Wine
I love onions as a side dish or part of a side dish.
First off all because onions are very cheap. And I always have a bunch of the in my pantry. So whenever I need a last minute vegetable side dish, pretty often onions will be on the menu.
Besides roasted onions, I also love caramelised onions.
Well, who doesn’t?
I love the sweetness of caramelised onions. I even add it to potato mash sometimes which makes it an all in one side dish as well.
Enjoy!
Easy Port Wine Roasted Red Onions Recipe
Roasted red onions first poached in a sweet port wine... An ideal vegetable side dish!
- 2 cups water (480 ml)
- 4 medium red onions
- 2 cups red wine (480 ml), or port wine
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- olive oil
- pepper
- salt
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Peel the red onions but leave them in one piece because the onion might fall apart while boiling. You need them to stay in one piece for roasting later on. Then place onions in a large saucepan and add the bay leaf, garlic cloves, water, balsamic vinegar and red wine or port wine. Season with some pepper and salt.
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Place the pan over high heat until the onions are boiling. Then turn the heat low and let them simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the cooked onions from the pan using a slotted spoon and place them on a clean chopping board to cool down.
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Chop off both ends now, the roots and the stems. Then slice the onions in half lengthwise.
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Sprinkle a baking tray with some olive oil and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Place the onions on it, largest side up. Sprinkle with extra olive oil, pepper and salt.
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Roast the red onions under a hot grill for a couple of minutes until nicely browned on top. Because all grills are different, cooking time can differ. Mine took 18 minutes to get the best result. Keep an eye on the onions while roasting, they can burn fast. Once the onions are done, remove them from the grill and place them on a clean serving plate. Sprinkle with extra olive oil and the fresh thyme leaves. Serve hot to lukewarm.
