You might not usually think about serving shallots as a vegetable, but they’re more flavorful and delicate than onions, a perfect accompaniment for an everyday roast chicken but special enough to serve on a holiday with a standing rib roast.–Ina Garten
LC Demurely Disrobing Shallots Note
Not only are shallots more nuanced in flavor than pearl onions, they’re far easier to disrobe from their clingy papery skins. Still, we won’t say no to shallot-stripping shortcuts, especially when in the throes of dinner party prep. So we wanted to share what the lovely Barefoot Contessa has to say on the topic. She drops whole shallots in a pot of boiling water for just shy of a minute, then drains them. The skins slip off with the utmost of ease, says the good BC. Furthermore, the good Contessa continues, you can peel the shallots hours in advance and later, when you’re juggling everything else, simply give them a quick sauté before tossing them in the oven. How easy is that?
Barefoot Contessa Caramelized Shallots Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 pounds fresh shallots, peeled, roots intact
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 3 tablespoons good red wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher sal
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Directions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
- 2. Melt the butter in a 12-inch ovenproof sauté pan or cast-iron skillet. Add the shallots and sugar and toss to coat. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, tossing occasionally, until the shallots start to brown.
- 3. Add the vinegar, salt, and pepper and toss well. Place the pan or skillet in the oven and roast until they are tender, 15 to 50 minutes, depending on the size of the shallots. (Don’t worry about the variance in cooking temperature, if the shallots are done before the rest of dinner, transfer them to a plate, hold at room temperature, and then slide back into the oven for just a few minutes to warm.)
- 4. Season with salt and pepper to taste, sprinkle with parsley, and serve hot.
Hungry for more? Chow down on these:
- Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Shallots from Blue Kitchen
- Fennel, Orange, and Shallot Salad from The Kitchn
- Green Beans with Bacon and Shallots from Leite's Culinaria
- Skirt Steak with Caramelized Shallots from Leite's Culinaria
Barefoot Contessa Caramelized Shallots Recipe © 2004 Ina Garten. Photo © 2004 Quentin Bacon. All rights reserved.


[Robert McCune] I’ve always loved shallots, whether as an ingredient in salad dressing or lightly sautéed with mushrooms—even as a stand-alone vegetable, they’re simply wonderful! I tend to have these ingredients on-hand, making this a great spur-of-the-moment recipe. Another plus of this recipe is the minimal prep time. I used fairly small shallots, so the total time was less than 40 minutes. I had a beautiful red wine vinegar from Spain that brought additional depth to the dish, enhancing the roasted flavor of the alliums. I served this with roasted chicken and a fresh butter lettuce salad. The yield was correct, but I think everyone would have eaten more if they could. No leftovers here. This will appear again on the holiday table.