A few years back we spent a beautiful weekend at the Kimberley Lodge in Russell in the Bay of Islands in New Zealand. The small and delightful lodge had a wonderful little restaurant and my mother-in-law Anne and I loved this caramelized onion jam that was served on top of little baked sweet potato pies as appetizers. It was delicious. This jam is well worth the time it takes to make it.
Ingredients:
for 5kg brown onions (1kg or 2.2 lbs)
200g salted butter (40 g or 1.5 oz)
3 cups soft brown sugar (4 oz)
2 cups good quality red wine (3.2 oz)
3 cups balsamic vinegar (4 oz)
Salt and pepper
Instructions:
Peel and halve onions and finely slice. Sauté in butter on a slow heat until reduced, but not too colored. Add sugar, salt and cracked pepper and stir well.
When reduced right down, and most of the liquid is evaporated, check seasoning and adjust to taste.
Add red wine and balsamic vinegar, and cook on very low heat until very well reduced, thickened and “sticky” caramelized. If the liquid cooks down too quickly, just add near equal amounts of both wine and vinegar to continue cooking. Cool and store in a warm sterlized jars. Keeps well (that is if you can resist eating it).
The amounts for the sugar, wine and vinegar are very dependent on personal taste. I recommend varying the recipe for only 1 kg onions to start with, and then changing the amounts to suit your own taste. Consistency can also be varied by adjusting the cooking times. e.g., longer for a very “chewy, sticky” jam (but be careful when going to this stage not to burn it), or not so long cooking time to have a runnier, less caramelized flavor.
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