Confit is a posh name for something you cook the heck out of until it ends up looking like jam. Or marmalade. Nah, seriously, it’s a way of preserving foods by cooking it in (its own) fat. This can be meat, poultry, vegetables or fruit. It usually ends up looking like jam.

It’s been a while since my last good onion recipe—admit my Mezgaldi was a pretty darn good recipe—and it was time for a new one. That, and I needed something to liven up the pork chops I planned on grilling for dinner.

Then it hit me: onion confit! It’s what my grandmother used to make when I was too young to fully appreciate the wonder named onion. The woman made confit out of everything and I wish to God some of those recipes had been preserved after she passed away.

But they weren’t. And so I made my version. Who knows, it might become a family tradition that my grandchildren will continue to make even after I’m long gone. A girl can dream, right?


Ingredients:

3 onions
3 tbsp oil
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup beef bouillon
2 tsp sugar
rosemary
parsley
thyme
pepper
salt


Directions:

Peel and slice the onions in half-rings. I’m sure red onions would be wonderful for this as well, but I haven’t tried it yet. When using sweet onions omit the sugar!

Heat the oil until it slides across the pan easily but don’t let it get too hot!

Add the onions.

Reduce the heat to medium-low. Stir to make sure all onions are coated with oil.

Season with a little salt and pepper.

And cook the onions until they are super soft while stirring occasionally.

It should take about 30 minutes. The onions need to be soft, not brown! Browning them might make them taste bitter and we don’t want that.

Next, add the sugar, white wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar and beef stock. Stir well.

I ran out of fresh rosemary so I used dried, just a pinch. And an equal amount of dried parsley.

Continue to cook the onions (stir occasionally) until the liquid is all gone, probably another 30 minutes.

In the end the onions are golden brown and all yummy.

This is SO good. Eat them on top of your pork chops or steak. Use them to liven up pizzas or Panini’s. Or simply grab a fork and dig in.