Cipollini In Saor - Venican Onions, with White wine vinegar, and Sugar in a Beurre Monté Sauce

This is a simple side to steak, or lamb.

Pearl onions

White wine vinegar

Sugar

Sweet Butter

Water

The pearl onions  are first boiled until “ all dente” in water that is slightly salty. Then the onions are steeped in water that is acidulated with white vinegar and a little white sugar. 

Beurre Monté is used to warm and serve the onions.

Beurre monté, literally “mounted butter” in French, is a cooking technique for preserving the emulsification of butter at high temperatures. In beurre monté, chunks of butter are whisked into hot water to create an emulsion stable up to 180 to 190°F. “Buerre monté” is also the name for the resulting liquid, which you can use as both a cooking fat and a finishing sauce.