A bit over a week ago, I posted about a most excellent Balsamic Onion Jam that was wicked simple and pretty darned tasty on burgers and other sammiches.
It put me in mind of another Onion Jam I had made last March after doing some research to make Martha Stewart’s most excellent Grilled Gruyère sammich. Mz Stewart had recommended a certain brand of onion jam, but then, I came across this recipe, which starts out, interestingly enough, with a sugar syrup made with oil.
The recipes I had found called for sweet onion and either white balsamic or red wine vinegar. I went red onion and, for the vinegar? Aged sherry, baby, all the way!
Making this batch so soon after making the spiced balsamic version, I can say that both a very good, with subtle differences; and I think that both will be in pretty common rotation around about here.
INGREDIENTS
•1/4 cup canola oil
•1/2 cup sugar
•4 cups diced red onion
•1/2 tsp dried parsley
•1 bay leaf
•1/4 tsp dried rosemary
•1/4 tsp Seasoned Salt
•1/4 tsp black pepper
•1/2 cup sherry vinegar
Note: for this batch, I only had two cups of diced red onion, and so cut the rest of the amounts in half. Still made a respectable amount, and more than enough for my planned Gruyère sammiches.
Heat the oil in a pan (a 2-1/2 quart will work a treat) over medium heat, then add the sugar and cook, stirring constantly, until the sugar has dissolved and the syrup is a caramel color; about five to ten minutes.
Add the onion and seasonings – not the sherry vinegar – and continue to cook, stirring often, until the onions have browned a bit and are tender.
Now, you can stir in the sherry vinegar, adjust the heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring often, until the cooking liquids have thickened and reduced to a jam consistency. This could take anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes, so keep and eye on the pan.
Remove from the heat and set aside to cool before using on your sammich or burger; stashing any remainders in a jar in the fridge.
Now…
About those grilled Gruyère sammiches?
Did not happen. Total change in our dinner plans, but…
A nice, rounded teaspoon or so stirred into a pot of cooked rice while it is resting turns out to be a very good thing, so, bonus!