Onion Jam

 

Pictured: Bacon, onion jam, gouda, romaine lettuce on multi-grain ciabatta (from Theobroma)

As with all super simple recipes, time is the secret ingredient to making an onion jam sublime. And again, as with all basics, the sky’s the limit as far as tweaking, twisting or evolving the recipe is concerned to suit your specific purpose. Simply used, for a salty, roast meat sandwich, you can elevate it by adding strong, fragrant herbs like rosemary or thyme. Add more vinegar, slap some mustard on and it brings authenticity to hot-dogs. Switch sugar for bitter-orange marmalade and its something else entirely. Or you can use it as a base for soup. Either ways, contrast its soft texture with something with bite and its sweetness with something salty or smoky. 

Ingredients:

6 large onions finely chopped

1 tablespoon of good quality balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons of olive oil

1 tablespoon of butter

2 – 3 teaspoons of cane sugar (less is more)

A small pinch of salt

Method: Heat olive oil in a wide saucepan (preferably with a lid), stir in the chopped onions until they are evenly coated in the olive oil and on a low heat, cover for about 5 – 8 minutes until the onions start to sweat. Now uncover slightly and stirring every 6 – 8 minutes to avoid burning, let the onions begin to caramelize. This should take about 20 – 40 minutes. When the onions begin to colour deeply and are soft and yielding when tasted, stir in your salt, sugar and balsamic vinegar. Keep stirring until you get a deep, shiny brown mass.