Christmas Chocolates, Sweets and Food

Talking about food, I've been making pot after pot of sweet and sour caramelised onions and onion marmalade.

I used to use baby onions (not the ones you pickle, the ones I mean would be the size of baby potatoes and are flattish - they're both sharp and sweet at the same time and are ideal for this), but since I couldn't find them for love or money I used smallish organic red onions. The first round I left them whole - they turned out gorgeous, they looked like jewels, but the sugars didn't caramelise enough in the centre so the flavour, while good, had some room for improvements. The next pot I did I chopped them in halves or quarters, depending on how big they were, and they turned out divine, although they lost some of their shape. I ate two nets of them in two days... Then, when I made them again, I decided to slice them in 8 segments, so although they lost their shape completely they absorbed more of the juices. I was left with a purple/ruby pot of caramelised onion slivers. Divine. I've been eating them with Cashel Blue cheese (courtesy of Lidl) on toast. They're soooo delicious! If I get a roll of pastry (puff or shortcrust), I'll make some tartlets with it, but I'd say they'd be to die for as a filling for crêpes, too.

The idea was to fill a few jars and give them as a present to friends, but I don't think they'll last that long... I'll post some pics later, if I can shrink the photos on my phone. I'll definitely be making them again.

No problem - it's the easiest thing ever, but I've a disclaimer: the balance of the ingredients is vital - you have to keep tasting it to make sure it's ok, then adjust the ingredients, one at a time, so see if the taste improves. It can go from disgusting/disappointing to heavenly in no time at all.

So, here we go.

The ingredients are:

• Onions - those of the "Borettane" variety are the very best, they're usually the size of an Oreo biscuits, but like I said I used small organic red onions I got in Supervalu (the label reads 40-55mm, but I'd say they were closer to 40mm - I think the variety is Red Baron). If, like me, you can't get the Borettane ones, then I'd recommend cutting them in segments to allow the cooking juices to be absorbed fully. I used about 1.5 kilos of onions.
• White sugar (6-8 tablespoons)
• White wine vinegar - it must be white wine and it must be good quality, but do not use malt, apple or balsamic vinegar. (about 100-150mls)
• Cinnamon (about a tablespoon or two) - this is a must - it makes all the difference and when mixed with the onion juice you'll be hard pushed to recognise its flavour.
• Salt (without overdoing it, use a decent amount, don't skimp: it makes a massive difference)
• Water
• A spoonful of sunflower oil (but I've cooked them without it and I can't say I miss it)

Peel, wash and chop the onions in segments. Arrange them in a large, shallow casserole in a single layer if you can - a wok or a frying pan won't do as they won't be flat).

Cover them completely with cold water, add vinegar, sugar, salt and cinnamon, cover with a loose fitting lid and bring to the boil. Lower the heat to the minimum setting and let it simmer away, ever so slowly, for a good couple of hours at least, but the longer you cook them the better they turn out. If you like, you can use a pyrex dish and bake them instead, but it has to be a low heat. You can remove the lid towards the end to help reduce the cooking juices.

Like I said, this is where it gets tricky - while they're cooking, the onions can taste too bland (add sugar, salt, vinegar and cinnamon), too sweet (add salt and cinnamon), not sharp enough (add vinegar). Cook until all the water has reduced almost completely and the onions are very, very, very soft and either have a gorgeous caramelised colour (if you use the borettane ones) or are glossy and coated by hint of syrupy juice if you make a marmalade. When they get are ready, if you think the taste is still off, add a little bit of boiling water and add whichever of the ingredients you think is missing, then let evaporate again.

If you're using the Borettane onions (or even the small, whole red onions), try not to stir them, but make sure they don't stick. With the "marmalade"/shards, stir to your heart's content, it won't make much of a difference.

This is what you get if you use the Borettane onions (pic I got from the web, they look a bit squashed):

These are what I got using whole onions:

and using the segments (the colour was less dull yesterday, but the flavour is still excellent).

You can also add one bay leaf, and/or some raisins towards the end, but I don't find either necessary.