Savory Onion Jam

Hello, everyone!

My heart is still bursting from all the good things that happened this week, and I feel the need to say thank you. I’d like to thank Leela Cyd again for her amazing photography skills and for featuring my kitchen on The Kitchn. I’d like to say hello (and welcome!) to any new readers that discovered my blog this week because of that post. And lastly, I want to say I’m humbled and honored by all of your responses to The Kitchn feature. I’m so glad you like my kitchen (and my bunny!).

It’s been quite the week at our house, and as a result, I’ve had zero time in the kitchen. Thankfully, I had a 3-day weekend (thank you, Presidents!) and so I took advantage of the extra time to dive into kitchen projects.

I will admit, I don’t do a lot of canning and preserving in the winter. I don’t grow a winter garden, and so my access to fresh and seasonal produce is somewhat limited. But, there are always onions. It seems that no matter what time of year it is, I can find boxes of onions at the farmer’s market. They grow year-round and they store well. Even in the dead of winter, onions are plentiful. So, I decided to preserve some onions. And let me tell you, making a big batch of savory onion jam is a great way to preserve onions.

I understand that onion jam might sound weird to some, but I promise you that it is totally delicious. Onion jam is somewhere between a fruit jam and a vegetable relish. It has hints of sweetness, but it’s also dark and savory. I got the idea to make the jam from my friend Beyth, who always brings a few jars of her onion jam to the PDX Food Swap. I’ve sampled her onion jam quite a few times and I’m always so impressed by its versatility. I’ve had onion jam on a grilled cheese sandwich. I’ve eaten it on a burger. I’ve had it paired with wine, cheese, and crackers. It never fails: onion jam is good with (almost) everything.

If you’re still not convinced, let me give you a few other ideas of how to use onion jam:

You can spread it on toast.
You could eat it with a bagel and cream cheese.
Try pairing it with steak. Or pork tenderloin sliders.
You could make a potato and rosemary tart with onion jam.
Make a salad dressing with it.
You could add it to rib-eye tacos.
You could include it on a pizza with fresh ricotta.

And so on and so forth…I think you get the idea. This is a very versatile little spread.

So, if you’ve got the itch to do a little canning or preserving this winter, I highly recommend this recipe. This particular recipe makes 4-5 jars, so it’s great for sharing (or keeping it all for yourself. I won’t judge.)

SAVORY ONION JAM WITH ROSEMARY
(Adapted from Serious Eats)
Makes 4-5 8 ounce jars

Ingredients:
3 pounds sweet yellow onions (about 10 large onions), peeled and sliced thinly
1/4 cup olive oil
6 sprigs of fresh rosemary
2 sprigs fresh (or dried) thyme
3 bay leaves
3 to 4 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/8 cup red wine
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup white sugar

Method:

Heat olive oil large pot or stock pot (with a tight fitting lid) over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add in onion slices and stir until all onions are coated in olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, and add in bay leaves, rosemary and thyme sprigs.

Place the lid snugly on the pot, and simmer the onion mixture for 15-20 minutes. The onions should have lost a lot of their liquid at this point.

Remove the lid and add in both vinegars, red wine, honey, and sugar. Add in a bit more black pepper, as well as the red chili flakes. Allow to simmer over medium-low heat, uncovered, until half the liquid is gone (about 20 minutes).

Once half of the liquid is reduced, remove the bay leaves, thyme, and rosemary sprigs. Taste, and add more salt (or sugar) if needed. Allow the mixture to simmer until the liquid is reduced and the jam is thick, dark, and sticky (30+ minutes). Be careful not to let the mixture burn.

Transfer to clean & sterilized jars. Seal the jars and store in the fridge. The jam will keep for 3-4 weeks. (Note: The original recipe says that you can preserve the jam via water-bath canning but I personally do not believe there is enough acid to safely can this jam. If you would like to keep the jam for a long time, I suggest freezing it.)

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