There’s a restaurant here in Chicago called Osteria Via Stato, which has a signature appetizer called Parmesan Crusted Sweet Onions. This antipasti on their menu is amazingly creamy and rich… and should be enjoyed in moderation. My friend Megan loves this dish so much (as do I) that she asked the restaurant for the recipe. Much to her surprise, the restaurant gave it to her! I guess the saying is true – “Ask and you shall receive.”
We especially like this as a side dish to steaks or any roasted meat. Using sweet Vidalia onions pairs well with the saltiness of the Parmesan cheese… and who can resist the creamy white wine sauce with hints of thyme? Be as liberal as you’d like with the Parmesan cheese. The more you choose to use, the longer you may want to keep them under the broiler to get it perfectly browned and crispy.
Megan also mentioned that another version of the recipe can be found on Closet Cooking, known as Onion Gratin.
1-2 large candy or Vidalia sweet onions
olive oil
salt, pepper and fresh or dried thyme to taste
1 pint heavy cream
1/2 cup white wine
shredded parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare your onions but peeling and cutting them in slices, being sure to keep entire rings. Place the sliced onions on a lipped baking sheet or baking dish. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle salt, pepper and dried thyme over them. Bake the onions in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine the heavy cream and wine. Simmer until warm. Remove the onions from the oven and ladle the cream/wine mixture over them.
Sprinkle some parmesan cheese over the onions until covered. Bake the cheese topped onions in the broiler for 15-20 minutes until the cheese melts and slightly browns. If they don’t brown, you can place them in the broiler for a minute or two.
Megan also says that leaving them in the oven a little longer will result in a nicer browned crust, which is delicious!
This was originally posted back on May 25, 2009 but I’ve updated it with a new pic and some additional information.
WOW that looks amazing!!! I am definitely going to try this at home! 🙂
Uhhh, yeah. DEFINITELY trying this one!
i love stato. i might have to try this out.
I LOVED those onions when we ate there. Good to have the recipe. No wonder they are so good with a pint of cream 🙂
What an amazing idea! I cannot wait to try these.
Looks very delicious. It's such a lovely idea.
This is one of those dishes that is burned into my memory from the very first taste years ago at Osteria!! So much love being sent your way right now because I have tried to recreate them many times but never got it quite right. Thank you!
We had our wedding reception at Osteria Via Stato and these were absolutely a favorite of everyones! Thank you for getting the recipe!!
Loved these at Stato. Thanks to them and to you for making the recipe available!
THANK YOU for this recipe! There is a restaurant called Marcellas in Columbus, OH where I live that makes the same thing, and this was the only similar-sounding recipe I could find online… I just made them and they were amazing! Spot-on. Like unbelievable. I left out the thyme (because I don't have any) and I only used about 2 1/2 – 3 ladles of the cream/wine mixture because I only did 4 onion slices, and didn't want to inundate them. But MMMMM seriously perfect.
I was looking for a "how to" on these, because we just left Saranellos in Wheeling, and they had the exact same dish. Soooo Good. I want to try and make them at home now. Guess LEYE.com shares their best dishes across restaurants.