As you may already know, if you are following the blog, I have a great harvest of Walla Walla Sweet Onions. I planted 50 sets and I’m sure there are at least 50 nice size onions. I have been experimenting with what to do with them beside eat or cook with them so I stored some of them and they are doing fine. To store them I wrapped them carefully (they bruise easy) in shredded paper and stacked them carefully in a wire basket. Tucked away on a shelf in the garage they are doing just fine. While researching storage suggestions for onions one website suggested putting them in pantyhose and tying knots between them to keep them separate. When using them simply cut the knots to get an onion. Ok… I’m having a generational gap I think. I don’t have panty hose… Oh maybe one pair in the back of my closet to wear with my short black evening dress but in my line of work I don’t exactly have them just lying around. And, if memory serves, the last time I bought them they were very hard to find and not cheap (around $10 a pair). I think the shredded paper is a better solution for me with no surplus pantyhose.
Today I made onion marmalade. I started with a recipe I had for French Onion Marmalade and adapted it to be a little more me. I’ll show you the process as we go.
Onion Marmalade
1 KG (just over 2 lbs) of red or yellow onions, peeled cut in half and sliced thinly (yes I have a scale to weigh them)
100 ml olive oil (just about 1/2 cup I add it as needed)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
2 rosemary springs (wrap and tie in cheesecloth)
150g soft brown sugar (3/4 cup)
75 ml dry white wine (1/3 cup)
75 ml red wine vinegar (1/3 cup I used champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar)
25 ml balsamic vinegar (good size splash I used white balsamic vinegar)
Directions
1. In a heavy fry pan (I use non stick), heat up some olive oil and add the finely sliced onions – toss around to make sure they all have a coating of oil.
2. Cook over gentle heat until they start to color.
3. Add the salt, pepper, bay leaves and rosemary springs and cook for another 20- 30 minutes. until herbs have wilted.
4. add the sugar, wine and vinegars.
5. bring back to boil and keep stirring all the time. Lower the heat and simmer for about 20-30 more minutes until the liquid is all dissolved and the onions are soft and sticky. Watch carefully as this mixture may burn easily.
6. Pick out the rosemary and bay leaves (this is why I put the rosemary in cheesecloth but I’ve left some in and it was ok too) and spoon the marmalade into clean dry & sterilized jar and seal straight away. Ready to eat after 2 weeks but better if kept for at least 1-2 months. I store in refrigerator but could be processed for longer shelf life.
7. Makes one 300ml jar – but can be easily increased.
The changes I made make it a little brighter in color. As you can see it takes a lot of onions to make just one jar. I used the small jars so I can use just what I need and give away some.
Onion Marmalade is so fabulous on burgers, steaks, ham sandwiches grilled or cold, even put over cream cheese and served with baguette slices or crackers.
I still have beets, tomatoes, green beans, carrots, lettuce, arugula, leeks, broccoli, cucumbers, peppers, and zucchini to get creative with and the rhubarb is still producing. I will probably make some more Rhubarb Ginger Jam this year. Next week I’ll post about my apples. I planted cordon apples left over from a garden show several years ago. You will be amazed when you see them. Please, share with me any interesting way you are using vegetables from your garden!
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