Balsamic and Honey Caramelised Onion Recipe

This is one of my favourite side dishes. I started making it years ago as an accompaniment for simple meat-and-starch meals that I wanted to round out the flavour and nutrition of a little, like sausage and spätzli, Rösti or pasta, meat and potatoes (like this Chicken and Waffles recipe) or even as a side to this Autumnal Macaroni and Cheese or Apple and Cheese Soufflé. I've added variations to this over the years, such as extra spring onions at the end or a little grated carrot, but for the most part, this dish is an onion dish. I like it alongside other sides like Rotkohl, or Broccoli Poppers. The flavours are very forgiving, and you can adjust the quantities of the various ingredients to tailor the flavour profile to your liking. The only caveat is to start it early enough before the meal to allow the onions to cook down low and slow. You want them to melt and caramelise rather than brown them. Any burnt bits will add bitterness to this that you probably want to avoid (but then, who am I to tell you what you want?)

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Recipe:

Cook time: 1 hour -- Portions: 4-5 side-dish portions -- Difficulty: easy

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

1 1/2c onions, sliced

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp honey

1-2 tbsp sesame seeds

1) Pour oil into a frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent. Add the other ingredients and continue cooking until the onions are very soft and melting together (not literally. They are not going to turn liquid.)

2) Season to taste and serve up hot as a side dish. The end. They are that simple.

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I am always very satisfied with this dish. It lends itself well to a variety of dishes, and as it has some sweet and some savoury/acidic notes, it can balance out mains or other sides that are either on the sweeter or the more acidic side. It is soft enough that it doesn't steal the show, but has enough flavour to hold its own. How much honey or balsamic go in changes every time I make this, according to what else it is being served with and what mood I'm in. It works with red, white or pink onions, just adjusting the balsamic and honey accordingly to compensate for the onions' varying strength and sweetness.

Swaps and Substitutions:

• Instead of regular white sesame seeds, try it with black sesame, toasted seeds or nigella seeds (or a combination of the three).

• Instead of honey, try substituting molasses, maple syrup or another form of thicker syrup/sweetening agent. The flavour and texture will change accordingly and you will need to tweak the balsamic quantities to compensate, but the different flavours can work very nicely depending on what you are pairing the onions with.

• Try changing the vinegar you use. I personally really like the depth of flavour from balsamic, but other vinegars do work as well. Particularly interesting is apple cider vinegar, especially when paired with an apple dish.

Let me know what you try!