1.11.08

Onion jam, redux

I can´t resist a shortcut, and I can´t resist raiding my mother´s pantry.
So when I saw a half-empty bottle of good Rioja that had been lingering for a few days, and spotted a couple of tins of Hida fried onions, I inmediately snaffled them for a trial at cheat´s onion jam.
Now, I´m not saying this is necessarily going to be my method for ever, but it works. The stuff still has to simmer for ages, but it does so unattended, and you save all the onion cutting time, plus your tears.
A jar of onion jam in invaluable at all times, for stirring into scrambled eggs, for sandwiches, cheese bruschetta, pizza, hamburgers, tacos , goat´s cheese salad or pasta, so keep it in mind.
The quantities, adjusted slightly:

Two tins of Hida fried onions
300 ml. red wine
a splash of Cassis
10 tablespoons of Sherry vinegar
140 gr. sugar

Simmer on Varoma, with the butterfly on, for 50 minutes ( I might use less wine next time, and only give it 40 minutes, just so you know. This is work in progress)

If you´re using a normal pan, you´ll have to stick around and stir it from time to time when it´s reduced.

Oh, and by the way, Foodbuzz is officially launched now, and I keep forgetting to post about it. Check it out!

8 comentarios:

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) dijo...

How lucky you are to have your mother's pantry available for raiding! I love it when my kids and grandkids poke around in my pantry.

ChichaJo dijo...

Shortcuts help us all! Any old brand of fired onions would do? :) I hope so!

Hehe...I had to smile as I just spent this whole weekend raiding my mom's pantry!

kickpleat dijo...

i love the sound of onion jam! i've never had a tin of fried onions, but i'm sure this would work with caramelized onions, do you think??

xps dijo...

Lo que te digo.... un 092.

lobstersquad dijo...

Lydia: lucky them, raiding your pantry must be like a trip to Ali Baba´s cave!
ChichaJo: glad to know we all do it. Any old fried onions will do, but they have to be soft, sauteed onions, not the crispy stuff.
Kickpleat: sure, caramelized onions will be great, but you´ll have to cut down on the sugar. Have a look at the normal recipe in the link, you can do it with proper raw onions for best results.
Xps: y tú poner una alarma en el armario, que te lo saqueo sin parar

Thermomixer dijo...

Great work - I made some onion jam a week or so ago after seeing a request on the Forum Thermomix. Started with plain old onions and sherry and port. No sugar or vinegar. Need to stop browsing and post the recipe.
Will have to look in the Spanish grocer for cans of fried onions.

Anónimo dijo...

Hi; been reading your blog for awhile; always find it interesting and informative. I have a question that you may be able to answer for me (off topic - I apologize). I am planning to plant a "Spanish Herb Garden" next Spring. Can you give me any ideas on what I should not leave out? I am thinking of bay, saffron, parsley, rosemary, thyme, garlic, peppers - both hot and sweet, other Mediterranean herbs. Is there anything typically Spanish that I am overlooking? Any advice is much appreciated.

lobstersquad dijo...

Anónimo
Hi. How interesting, a herb garden, that sounds great.
I´ve never seen anyone grow saffron themselves, let me know how that works out. The other stuff is very Spanish. You might try to get some of the peppers that are used here to be dried and then spice dishes: ñoras, or the long narrow ones grown in La Vera to make pimentón.
I´d also suggest mint, to flavour chicken soup and tomato and bread soup, which is very typical in the South.
Basil is planted to scare mosquitoes away, though it´s not traditionally eaten here (but you can cheerfully ignore that).
The other usual stuff in patios and herb gardens are trees: orange, lemon and pomengranate, which might be a bit much, but just so you know.

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