Caramelized Onion and Garlic Jam

If you’re looking for a versatile appetizer that practically everyone loves, this caramelized onion and garlic jam is it. It doesn’t involve a ton of ingredients and it’s likely you already have everything to make it right in your pantry.  The most labor-intensive part of making this is slicing the onions which you can make easier by using a mandoline or even a food processor with a slicer attachment. Caramelizing the onion does take an hour or so but I find I can accomplish a lot of other things in the kitchen while they’re doing their thing.

Savory Caramelized Onion and Garlic Jam Recipe

• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 5 lbs. sweet onions, cut in half from the top to root end and then sliced into long slices cut the same way
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 4 large cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon crushed dried rosemary
• 3 tablespoons white balsamic or white wine vinegar

Directions

• Heat olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat until it starts to shimmer – I utilize my big heavy cast iron skillet for this but any large heavy skillet will do, just be sure to watch your onions as they cook differently in different pans
• Add onions and stir well, coating them with the oil. If needed, add 3/4 of the batch of onions and wait a few minutes until they soften before adding the remaining onions.
• Add salt and stir well
• When all of the onions have started to soften after about 5 minutes or so, add the garlic, bay leaf, and rosemary and stir well. 
• During the cooking process, try to keep the bay leaf submerged in the onions to get the best flavor possible
• Cook the onions, stirring occasionally until they are beautifully caramelized and deep golden brown, about 1 hour. Be cautious of stirring too often, as you want the sugars in the onion to stick and brown to the bottom of the pan a bit. 
• About 20 minutes into this you may think that the onions aren’t doing much but trust me, they will get there.
• After about 1 hour, when the onions are nice and brown and caramelized, increase the heat to medium-high and add vinegar.
• Stir well, cooking for about 1-2 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan to release any browned pan bits
• Remove from heat and let cool
• Serve or refrigerate until ready to use

It only takes a little bit of this savory onion jam spread over crusty bread or crackers to offer a huge burst of flavor. I’ve also used this recipe to top a couple of rounds of fresh brie cheese, with the top rind removed, baked just until the cheese is softened, as another easy alternative for a wonderful appetizer.

The rosemary adds a dimension of flavor but if you’re not a fan of it, you can omit it. In place of rosemary, try some dried thyme or even minced sage.

The trick to caramelizing onions, at least for me, is to start on a higher heat and then wind it down to a medium heat as the onions cook. If the onions are stubborn in giving up their sugar, keep the heat a little higher for a bit of time. And, as I mentioned in the directions, you want to stir the onions occasionally but not too often or you’ll miss out on the caramelizing process that happens as the onions brown up on the bottom of the pan.

Oh, and if you’re looking for an easy Italian bread recipe like the bread I show in my photos here, check out my Easy One Loaf of Italian Bread Recipe that I recently posted.

This recipe is proof that it doesn’t take a ton of ingredients to make a delicious, savory appetizer; just a little bit of time and you’ve got yourself a whole lot of flavor.

Thanks to the vinegar in this jam it usually keeps for a couple of weeks in the fridge for me with no problems, making it a do-ahead appetizer which makes me love it even more.

Enjoy!