Red onion marmalade

This is one of the most delicious relishes that I’ve ever made.

I’ve had red onion marmalade on my to-make list for a while now and I don’t know why I waited this long, because not only is it easy to make and delicious, there are an endless number of things it can be eaten with, try it with:

• sausages, burgers or steak
• a dollop or two in pasta sauces or casseroles
• the filling in little tarts under a layer of blue cheese
• or simply with cheese and crusty bread

Ingredients:

1kg red onions

100ml olive oil

a pinch of sea-salt & black pepper to taste

2 sprigs of rosemary

150g dark brown sugar

100ml red wine

50ml port

75ml red wine vinegar

Storage jars:

jam jars with wide opening are perfect for this, I used three, care is needed to sterilise the jars so that the relish can be kept for as long as possible without spoiling,  see instructions below.

The cooking:

cut in half and finely slice the onions, I used my trusty 32 year old magimix food-processor, a very sophisticated piece of kit in its’ day,

gently fry the onions in a heavy based pan until they’re soft,

add the salt, pepper and rosemary sprigs, cover the pan and cook gently for 20mins,

remove the lid, add the wine vinegar, red wine and port, bring to the boil while stirring it to stop it sticking, then reduce the heat & & cook it uncovered for 20-30 minutes, keeping an eye on it as the liquid reduces,

meanwhile sterilise the jam-jars, put them in the oven and set it to 150 degrees centigrade, turn the oven off after fifteen minutes and leave them in until they’re needed,

the relish is done when most of the liquid has evaporated and it’ll have a jammy consistency, scoop a small spoonful out, allow it to cool and taste the mixture for seasoning,

remove the rosemary and carefully fill the warm jars with the hot mixture right to the top, place a disc of baking parchment over the top and screw on the lid,

wipe the jars clean when they’re warm and stick the label on once they’ve cooled, the relish will keep for up to three months.

Happy gardening and cooking, Jill

all photos: Jill Anderson.