The Thursday before last, we tried a new wine and tapas bar not far from where we live (Copa, in Bridgehampton, NY Click here: Facebook | Copa Wine Bar and Tapas Restaurant’s Photos – Copa Wine and Tapas).
Before arriving there, Robert had had his doubts about a tapas bar in the Hamptons. Fortunately, his fears were unfounded. It is a great venue for wines from France, Italy, Spain, Australia and California (with a few local vintages thrown in for good measure). Aside from a great wine list, we were captivated by the enticing and extensive tapas menu.
When we first walked in, someone started calling out to Robert. It was a friend we hadn’t seen in years. We ended up sitting next to him at the bar for a while, which was fun, although all of the catching up with our friend sort of distracted us from the tapas menu and our mission to discover new palate teasers. However, we settled on several lovely dishes ranging from grilled (melt-in-your-mouth) pulpo, a medley of grilled red and yellow peppers, sautéed calamari, and marinated cipolline onions. The latter was incredible. Neither one of us had ever had cipolline quite like this before. We inquired as to how they were made, and they were kind enough to share the simple recipe. We also met the chef, Eddy, (originally from Thailand) who seemed delighted by our questions and praises.
So, in the next day or so, we purveyed several pounds of cipolline onions and brought them home, along with some fresh local baby beets, and we got to work.
First, we blanched the onions in boiling water for several minutes and cooled them under running water in a colander. This makes getting the skin off the onions easy. Next, we combined a cup of balsamic vinegar and half a cup of sherry in a sauce pan and reduced it by half on the simmer burner. When the reduction was ready, we poured it in a container with the whole cipolline onions, let them cool to room temperature, and put them in the refrigerator for a week and a half. The same fate awaited the baby beets: Rosaria, briefly boiled them (instead of oven roasting), then peeled and shaped them into small uniform pieces, and marinated them in their own container with the same reduction used on the cipolline. The beet reduction, of course, turned red immediately thereafter in the refrigerator. After more than a week of marinating, the cipolline and baby beets were ready to be plated. Each vegetable was placed on opposite sides of a small dish, with a hint of their own marinade poured over each. Served with a sprig of fresh red mint, it was a fantastic appetizer and a great photograph!
