Small Bite Night - Cipolline Tempura

It's a rare occasion that we make fried food.  (Guess I should have stated that about 6 small bite nights ago).  Rigby doesn't like onions, if she knows there is onions in something, she'll spend time picking them out, unless they are chopped very fine.  So imagine my surprise when she tried these onions. 

A cipolline is a small, sweet, flat Italian onion.  And they are delicious, especially when dipped in tempura batter and fried to perfection.  The perfect one bite.  To go along with the onions, I made a simple aioli with some sriacha and garlic.  Back to Rigby and the onion.  She tried one, didn't make any strange faces, and then asked for the next course.

Cipolline Tempura

• Kosher Salt
• 1 pound small cipolline onions
• 1 cup cake or rice flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup ice-cold sparkling water
• 2 cups peanut or other neutral-flavored oil

Bring a 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.

When the onions are coll enough to handle, use a paring knife to peel off the outer skin and trim off the hairy ends.

To make the tempura batter combine the flour, baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a large bowl.  Add the cold sparkling water and mix a loose batter forms. 

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.  When the oil is hot enough, dip onions in the tempura batter and then add them to the oil one at a time.  Fry until the batter is crisp, but still pale and golden.  Remove onions from the oil to the drying station and salt immediately.

Serve with dipping sauce of choice.