Soft and sticky.  Tangy and full of flavour.  Perfectly pairs with so many things.  And no need to fear making your own caramelised onion jam.  It’s simple perfection.  Nature’s bounty at its finest.

Am I waxing too lyrical now?

I just really want you to make this.  It might sound unusual – jam?  With onions??  But the proof of the pudding and all that ?

I think it’s referred to as jam because you’re cooking the onions until they release their own natural sugars – making that lovely sticky sweetness.

It couldn’t be simpler to make.  And another of my one saucepan loveliness recipes too.  Bonus!

The hardest part is slicing the onions.  I’ve become a bit of an onion warrior over the years.  I’ve peeled/sliced so many that they no longer make me cry and knives were my workplace too so I’m confident with them.  But there’s no need to rush, take your time, keep your fingers and marvel at your cheffyness with your homemade caramelised onion jam!

When you want to thinly slice an onion, peel away the tough outer skin then cut in half through woody root that’s at one end of the onion This is the thing responsible for holding all the layers of the onion together.  Lay one of your onion halves flat on a chopping board and cut the root away then slice the onion.  You can cut it either way round – one way will give you half onion rings, the other slightly less rounded.  The choice is really yours.  It won’t matter a jot once they’re cooked!

You want to cook them relatively slowly as well.  Too high a heat and they’ll start to burn before the natural sugars start to caramelise the onions.  Just a gentle heat and an occasional stir from you is all it takes.

This is just a basic recipe.  You can juj it up with a splash of apple juice, balsamic vinegar and some sultanas – add those once the onions have started to caramelise.  You can impart a little extra flavour with a vegetable stock cube too!  Again, add that once the onions have started to turn their wonderful golden colour.  Experiment.  Be free!

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