Onion Confit. Versatile.

Years ago I promised myself I would never again spend more than £10 on a cookbook.  My shelves were bulging with millions of them and I practically spent more on cookbooks than ingredients.  So now I look forward to a possible cookbook on my birthday, often thanks to my great siblings.  Sadly, in South Africa books are insanely expensive and my £10/R100 limit is often prohibitive.  But the other day I managed to find a wonderful book called ‘Australian Gourmet Traveller Essentials’ for R99 in a bargain bookshop.  It is a super book, providing essential recipes and the means to develop them into other dishes.  The polenta recipe is incredible, but for the moment lets talk about confit.

I made this confit last Sunday, I had the pot on the stove all day as we sat reading in the garden, only occasionally getting up to give it a stir.  On Sunday evening I used it top some Welsh Rarebit (see next blog) and have since sent some off with cheese and biscuits for the hubbie’s packed lunch and made a delicious sarnie spreading it on top of cold beef and rocket.  I also reckon it would also be an amazing addition to gravy.  Wonderfully it keeps for two weeks in the fridge and unlike HP or ketchup you actually know what you're eating.

Ingredients

50 ml olive oil

1 kg onions, halved and finely sliced

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 bay leaf (dried is fine)

1 tsp chopped rosemary

1 tsp finely chopped thyme (dried is fine)

1 anchovy fillet, finely chopped (optional)

60 m red wine

1 tsp red wine vinegar (I’m sure balsamic would be equally lovely)

½ tsp brown sugar

Salt and black pepper

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy bottomed saucepan, add the onions, garlic, herbs and anchovy, mix well.

2. Cook covered over a low heat for 1 hour or until the onions are golden, stir frequently.

3. Stir in the remaining ingredients and cook over a low heat for 20 minutes or until the liquid has reduced and the onions are glossy.  Season to taste. Cool and keep in the fridge for up to two weeks.

Oh la la, confit a l'onion.