Cipolle – red onions

Red onions, sweet and sour, ready-to-serve as antipasto

Viani Cipolle are hand-peeled red onions, marinated in a sweet and sour blend of white wine vinegar and red wine, and preserved in oil—crunchy in texture, ready to serve as an antipasto or as a side for grilled meat and cheese.

The Cipolle, sweet and sour red onions from the Antonio Viani range, are hand-peeled, marinated in sugar, salt, white wine vinegar, and red wine, then preserved in 260g jars in a blend of sunflower and olive oil. Ready for immediate consumption, without any further preparation.

First marinated, then preserved

For the Cipolle, red onions are hand-peeled and cut into rings between 1 cm and 2 cm thick before being marinated with sugar and salt in a mixture of white wine vinegar and red wine. This dual acidity from two types of vinegar gives the onions their characteristic sweet-and-sour balance before they are finally preserved in sunflower and olive oil. The sugar in the marinade is not an excessive sweetener, but rather balances the natural sharpness of the raw onion.

The rings are intentionally kept thick enough so they do not fall apart during marination—this way, they can be easily speared with a fork later, rather than dissolving into a mush in the marinade, as happens quickly with thinly sliced onions.

Sweet, sour, and savory all at once

Unlike onion jam that has been cooked down for a long time, the Cipolle remain pleasantly crunchy—the marinade penetrates without destroying the structure. The flavor is sweet, sour, and savory at the same time, with the mild sharpness typical of red onions. This balance makes them an antipasto that is never one-dimensionally sweet or just sour, but rather shifts between both poles on the palate. It is precisely this transition that makes Cipolle such a reliable counterpart to richer, heartier dishes.

With grilled meat, cheese, or on an antipasti platter

The Cipolle are a savory counterpoint on any antipasti platter, alongside grilled mushrooms, thinly sliced salami, and a few slices of mild cheese. They go just as well with grilled vegetables, cold roasts, or directly with a steak from the grill, where their acidity wonderfully balances the fat and adds variety to the plate without you having to prepare a thing.

With ricotta or burrata, they provide a fruity, acidic counterpoint that really brings out the mild creaminess of the cheese—chopped up, they also fit into a sausage salad, on a cheese board, or between two slices of white bread in a quick sandwich. They also give a decisive spicy kick to a simple tomato salad.

Antonio Viani and the Italian antipasti range

The Antonio Viani range has always included ready-to-serve antipasti alongside oils, vinegars, and pasta—products that require no further preparation before being put on the table. They are selected and imported by Antonio Viani.

You can find more antipasti from this range in our Antipasti & Mediterranean Specialties overview, and the entire Italian range in the Antonio Viani Imports collection; a fennel salami also pairs well for the platter—together they make a complete antipasti spread in just a few minutes, without any need for a stove. A jar that never stays in the fridge for long because it goes with so many things and requires no effort at all.

Anyone who has once had a properly pickled red onion alongside a cold roast will not reach for a dill pickle again anytime soon.