Cipolline are flat, sweet Italian onions that look like little flying saucers. I love these guys because they’re like onion rings with no holes. Perfectly fried baby onions and garlic mayonnaise to dip them in—they’re out of this world!
Recipe information
Yield
serves: 6 to 8
Ingredients
for the cipolline tempura
for the aïoli
Preparation
FOR THE TEMPURA
Step 1
Bring a medium pot of well-salted water to a boil. Toss in the cipolline and cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until tender. Drain and let cool. (While these are cooling, I suggest you save time and whip up your aïoli. BTW, this is multitasking!)
Step 2
When the onions are cool enough to handle, use a paring knife to peel off the outer skin and trim the hairy root end; reserve.
Step 3
To make the tempura batter, combine the flour, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Add the cold (seriously—ice-cold!) sparkling water and mix until a loose batter forms; don’t worry about the lumps.
Step 4
When you’re ready to cook, pour the peanut oil into a large saucepan over medium-high heat; the oil should come 1 1/2 to 2 inches up the sides of the pan. To see if it’s hot enough, drop a couple of little batter balls into it. If they sizzle and float quickly, you’re good to go. If the batter burns or the oil begins to smoke, it’s too hot, so reduce the heat.
Step 5
While the oil heats, set up your drying situation next to the stove by putting a couple layers of paper towels on a baking sheet. Dip and coat each of the onions in the tempura batter, then add them one at a time to the oil. Work in batches—you don’t want to overcrowd the pan—and fry them until the batter is crisp but still pale and golden. Remove the onions from the oil and salt these puppies immediately.
FOR THE AÏOLI
Step 6
In the bowl of a food processor, combine the egg yolks, vinegar, garlic, and red pepper and process until combined. Then, with the machine running, begin to add the oil a drop at a time—you want to do this slowly in the beginning until the mixture begins to thicken and look homogeneous. Once this happens, add the remaining oil in a thin stream until it is all combined; taste and season with salt. Serve the garlicky mayonnaise with the crispy sweet onions.
