Photo l Felicia D’Ambrosio

Sweet, tart, tender… and fast.

A classic accompaniment to roasts, lamb and duck, or even just spread on bread, onion confit is sweet, tart, tender… and it takes a looong time.

I sped the onion confit process  along by making a small batch, just enough to top up turkey burgers for four, eliminating the need to make a massive quantity and then preserve it.  Streamlining the ingredients to just the basics — onions, salt, vinegar, sugar, herbs and black pepper — also saved time.  If you wish to make a truly traditional onion confit, check out this recipe from The Epicurean Table.  Otherwise, grab your knife and favorite little saucepan for my method, after the jump.

Quick Onion Confit

(serves four as a condiment)

Go Get This:

One onion, red or Vidalia

One Tablespoon sea salt (Maldon preferred)

Three Tablespoons butter

Small splash extra-virgin olive oil

Four Tablespoons apple cider or champagne vinegar

Two Tablespoons light brown sugar

Three sprigs fresh thyme

A few turns of freshly ground black pepper

Now Do This:

Slice your onion in half lengthwise (root to stem end) and remove skin.  With a sharp knife, slice as thin as you can across the grain, or use a mandolin.

Place a small, heavy-bottomed sauce pan over moderate heat.  Melt the butter and add a small splash of olive oil to help keep the butter from burning.  Add onions to pan, then salt.  Allow onions to sweat down five minutes, stirring frequently to avoid burning.

Add sugar to pot and stir to combine, then pour in vinegar (do not inhale vinegar fumes from pot) and allow to bubble and reduce, approximately three to five minutes, until mixture resembles a loose marmalade.

Strip thyme from branches and add to onions, stir to combine.

All liquid should be absorbed or evaporated at this point and onions should soft and golden-brown.  Season with pepper, then taste to check for seasoning.  Add salt if needed.

Serve warm or room temperature as a condiment for burgers, lamb, roasts, duck, grilled vegetables or as a spread on bread.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 8th, 2009 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Recipes, Vegetarian. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.