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Sweet and sticky red onion chutney made with delicious festive spices served with char-grilled ciabatta bread and topped with crumbly gorgonzola cheese. This crostini is perfect served during the holidays with a festive tipple.
I wanted to create a crostini recipe that felt really festive and what better than strong gorgonzola cheese paired with a sweet, festive spiced red onion chutney.
My mother-in-law makes red onion chutney at Christmas time and it never lasts long it’s pretty much devoured within 1-2 days.
I’m making a super quick and easy version here with red wine, red wine vinegar for that sharp acidity, sugar, cloves, cinnamon and juniper berries.
The spices give the chutney a beautiful festive flavour that’s perfect with cheese. The chutney can be put on sandwiches, served with a cheeseboard or with crostini like we have it’s so delicious!
We used Gorgonzola Piccante which has a stronger flavour and more crumbly texture but Gorgonzola Dolce (the creamy kind) will also work really well as will most blue cheeses.
Ingredients
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- Prep the onions – to make this super quick and easy, I sliced the onions in my food processor using the slicer attachment. It’s not only quick but saves your eyes from watering (photo 1).
- Sweat the onions – add the onions and sugar to a saucepan and cover with a lid. Cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes until soft. You don’t need to add any oil because when covered, the onions release a lot of moisture, allowing them to soften. (photos 2 and 3).
- Add spices – once soft, remove the lid and add the red wine, red wine vinegar, spices and bay leaf with a pinch of salt. Stir to combine the ingredients then cook uncovered for 10-15 minutes until they’re soft and sticky (photos 4-6).
- Leave to cool – leave the onion chutney to cool completely then store in the fridge until needed. The chutney tastes even better the next day!
- Assemble crostini – spoon some of the caramelised red onions on some char-grilled ciabatta bread and top with gorgonzola cheese, serve!
Serving suggestions
The red onion chutney is also delicious served on sandwiches or as a condiment to a cheeseboard.
These crostini are perfect served at parties during the holidays. Why not try serving them with other nibbles such as taralli, Italian breadsticks, marinated olives, mozzarella bocconcini or our walnut focaccia (delicious with cheese).
As for drinks that go well, Prosecco, red wine or a delicious Italian cocktail like our Sbagliato Rosso, Venetian Select Spritz or Christmas Spiced Cranberry and Prosecco Fizz.
More crostini recipes to try
If you’ve tried this Caramelised Red Onion Crostini recipe or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest or sign up to our Newsletter to see more of our delicious food
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Spiced Red onion Chutney and Gorgonzola Crostini
Ingredients
- 3 large red onions
- 50 g sugar, (1/4 cup)
- 50 ml red wine vinegar, (just shy of 1/4 cup)
- 50 ml red wine, (just shy of 1/4 cup)
- 3 juniper berries
- 4 cloves
- 1 pinch cinnamon
- 1 pinch salt
- Gorgonzola piccante, (crumbly kind)
- 1 loaf Ciabatta bread
Instructions
- Finely slice the red onions, I like to do this in my food processor using the slicer attachment which takes seconds but you can also finely slice them with a knife.
- Add the onions and the sugar to a large saucepan and cover with a lid. Cook on a medium heat for 10 minutes until soft.
- Remove the lid and add the red wine, red wine vinegar, spices, bay leaf and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine then continue cooking until soft and sticky (there should be no liquid left).
- Leave the onions to cool completely.
Assemble the crostini
- Cut the ciabatta into slices and drizzle with olive oil. Char-grill the crostini on a hot griddle pan.
- Top with the cooled red onion chutney and some gorgonzola cheese then serve.
Notes
- Prep in advance – The red onion chutney tastes even better the next day.
- Before serving – Make sure to remove the cloves, bay and juniper berries before serving.
- Storage – The chutney will keep well in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Other cheese that would work well – any blue cheese, Taleggio or a strong soft cheese such as brie or Pecorino Staginato.
Helpful Info for All Recipes
- I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise
- When I use canned or jarred tomatoes of any kind I always use Cirio or Mutti brands for the best results and flavour.
- All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise
- All recipes are tested and developed using a fan (convection) oven
- Find out more about how nutrition is calculated.
- Check out our must have Italian Pantry Staples.
- You can also find all our Essential Kitchen Tools for Italian Cooking.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These crostini are fabulous! Plus, they’re pretty. Merry Christmas!
Thanks so much Mimi, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas!