January 13th, 2012
Onions and how to cook them
Onions are very often the starting point for stews ,soups, sauces, casseroles and numerous other dishes. It is very important therefore to cook them the correct way to ensure that you get the very best out of this versatile ingredient.
To Sweat (sauté) onions
Chop, slice or dice the onions you want to sweat, as called for in your recipe.
Put a thin layer of butter or oil in a non-stick pan on your stovetop. Olive oil is also a good choice.
Add the onions to your pan and cover with a tight fitting lid.
Cook the onions over low heat on your stovetop.
Stir the onions occasionally with your rubber spoon or spatula. Place the lid back on the pan after you finish stirring.
Continue to cook the onions over low heat until they are translucent and have a soft texture, which will indicate that the onions are done.
To Caramelise onions
Caramelizing onions, by slowly cooking them in a little olive oil until they are richly browned, is a wonderful way to pull flavor out of the simplest of ingredients. Onions are naturally sweet; and as caramel come from the simple cooking of sugar. When you slowly cook onions over an extended period of time, the natural sugars in the onions caramelize, making the result intensely and wonderfully flavourful. To speed up this process you can add a little sugar to the pan. Another alternative for added flavour is to add a dash of balsamic vinegar to the onions – Yumm!!
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