I found this as part of making this ‘crowd pleaser’ filo tart. Afterwards we agreed it was totally a crowd pleaser and that it would be easier to make mid-week if you used puffy pastry instead of filo pastry and that the red onion marmalade was a) delicious but b) a bit of a time stealer to make as part of the recipe.
The jarring bug hit me just before Christmas, I made tomato ketchup and homemade peanut butter (definitely future munchie monday posts!). So here I am, make a super batch of red onion marmalade ready to jar. Below is the recipe for making 1 batch, the amount needed for a 4 person filo tart, the photos are me making triple quantities ready to stash in the fridge!
Amy x
Ingredients
2 red onions
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
3tbsp caster sugar
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
300ml water
Step 1: chop your onions thinly
I like to chop the top off
Then peel and then chop off the hairy end
If you then chop it in half you can do whatever you want with it really very easily
Step 2: heat the oil in a pan on a medium heat
The recipe suggests a sauting pan, I prefered using a frying pan – for my bumper stash I used my wok! But the medium heat is important, don’t get tempted to turn the heat up, slow and steady is a key element to making this delicious. You’ve been warned.
Step 3: add the onion and thyme
Ocado didn’t have any fresh thyme when I did my shop. Rude of them eh?! I substuited dried instead…I kept the same quantity because I thought it wouldn’t hurt to add a little extra thyme. Obviously if you don’t like thyme so much use fresh or reduce the quantity of dried. Simples.
Step 4: wait a little while. Stir gently and regularly…the onions should look glossy and start to softened. Check your heat, just medium remember.
Step 5: add the sugar and stir until dissolved. At this point it needs your undivided attention.
Step 6: add the balsamic vinegar and half of the water and mix through.
Step 7: this is the part that requires patience. You just have to leave it to bubble away…
give it a little stir every now and again
and keep topping it up with water, I like to add a little at a time…I know, it doesn’t seem like it can take anymore. But have faith and add a bit more and a bit more until it is all gone.
Remember give it time, don’t rush it. For 1 batch it should take about 20 minutes to reduce down to a sticky mess of glorious red onion-ness. My mega batch seemed to take forever. But I was patient, made myself a coffee, sterilised the jar, wrote up a disclaimer, read blogs and checked twitter…and then prepped my jar…
Keep going until it is sticky, don’t stop when it is still wet like this:
Let it go until it is sticky:
Finally it is ready to jar. Look at it, remember this moment and enjoy the thought of how much more pleasant it was to make it than drive to tesco…I mean really it is an investment because you can not only benefit from the yumminess of it but also the smiles and gasps of admiration when you place it on the table from people who will claim ‘Oh I could never find the time to make that, it must be so complicated and tricky…’
ps It makes a great alternative to tomato sauce on pizzas :o)
