Onion Marmalade

On Saturday I spent the morning making chutney's and promised to post the recipes, so here goes the first, onion marmalade aka caramelised onion chutney. It really is worth the patience needed to caramelise the onions as the result is simply yummy! It is fab as a chutney with cheese or cooked meats or in sandwiches. I would also recommend using it to make a sauce next time you have a steak. Cook the steak and whilst it is resting deglaze the pan with a splash of red wine add a spoonful of the chutney, a splash of balsamic vinegar and maybe a few fresh thyme leaves. Perfect speedy sauce!

The original recipe uses red onions and far more alcohol and vinegar, but I use less liquid and normal onions as they are cheaper and the end result doesn't seem to suffer any detriment to flavour. I also add the sugar at the same time as the liquid otherwise caramelising the onions in the sugar causes havoc with the pan and is a nightmare to clean.

This will make about 4 jam jars.

Here is a photo of the chutney before the lid is on.









And the final product ready for wrapping.









Here is the full recipe

Ingredients
2kg onions
4 garlic cloves
4 tbsps olive oil
A knob of butter
140g caster sugar
A bunch of fresh thyme leaves
250ml red wine
200ml red wine vinegar

Quarter and thinly slice the onions, then crush the garlic. Melt the butter with the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan over a high heat. Tip in the onions and garlic and give them a good stir and reduce the heat slightly. Cook uncovered for 40-50 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding a little water or more oil if they start to stick.. The onions are ready when all their juices have evaporated, they're really soft and sticky and smell of sugar caramelising. Slow cooking is the secret of really soft and sticky onions, so don't rush this part.

Add the sugar and thyme and pour in the wine and vinegar and simmer everything, still uncovered, over a high heat for 25-30 minutes, stirring every so often until the onions are a deep mahogany colour and the liquid almost all reduced. It's done when drawing a spoon across the bottom of the pan clears a path. Leave the onions to cool slightly in the pan, then scoop into sterilised jars and seal. Can be eaten straight away, but keeps well in the fridge.

Adapted from a recipe from Good Food








#letsmakechristmas