Caramelised onions are an absolutely brilliant and versatile dish. I’ve only recently tried my hand at them and am totally sold. Once you nail a recipe you will start to find time to cook them, in advance, when you know ‘fried’ onions will be required. You can use them as a side with your steak, put them in a savoury tart, they are great in a hamburger, a pre-dinner snack with bread, cheese &wine or do what I am doing and have them as one of the toppings on a whole baked potato. And they last for about 3 weeks, sealed, in the fridge.
The addition of a small amount of chilli gives the dish an adult kick that sorts the dishwashers out from the masterchefs.
Good luck if you try it yourself
Time- about an hour (some watching required but I am writing this blog as I cook a batch)
Serving- 1 large cup
Ingredients
2 tbs olive oil (vege oil or butter works too)
3-4 large onions (red, brown or white)
2 tbs brown sugar
1-2 tbs balsamic vinegar
½ tsp Homemade Chill Sauce (chilli flakes, powder or other similar paste will also do)
Good pinch of salt
Utensils
Chopping Knife
Chopping Board
Cook top
Saucepan with lid (use a frying pan if you must but be prepared to stand guard until it is cooked)
Tablespoon
Tea spoon
Wooden spoon (I like to use my oversize wooden spoon to stir but you can use the tbs if you really want)
Small bowl for mixing sugar, balsamic & chilli
Process
1. Put oil into saucepan and onto stove top, set to low heat
2. Peel & slice onions into thin rings.
3. Test oil with a drop of water. If it explodes out at you then the oil is too hot. If it sizzles gently then place onions into oil and stir until all onions are coated. Place lid on saucepan and cook for about 10 minutes or until onions are golden/translucent. (Check after the first couple of minutes to make sure they are not sticking to the bottom or burning).
Check out that wooden spoon4. After onions are all golden, add in the balsamic, sugar & chilli mix and stir in well. Don’t change the heat. Cover and cook for 10 minutes
5. Stir every 5 minutes from now until they are finished
6. After 10 minutes take the cover off and leave it off. Cook for a further 30-40 minutes until the onions become sticky and are a deep brown. Don’t go too far or you will get a burnt mess.
Warning- Once the moisture has cooked off and they start to go a darker shade of brown you should keep a close eye on them as they can quickly go from delicious to inedible in the blink of an eye.
Enjoy in a variety of ways and keep the remainder in an air tight container in the fridge.
So next time you go to a BBQ or away for the weekend don’t forget to pack the caramelised onions.
For more information on the process of caramelising, click on this link.
