I’m a big fan of a tasty condiment. They are especially useful when you’re trying to make healthful changes to your diet and maybe missing a few of your old not-so-healthy favourites. Think of them as a chance to discover new tastes and re-train your taste buds.

So this is one of my favourites:

ONION MARMALADE

1lb onions
1 tablespoon light olive oil
4 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon coarse ground mustard
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
150ml red wine
1 level tablespoon light muscavado sugar (or I would choose to use date purée or organic molasses instead)

Peel onions and thinly cut into slices / rings. You will think there is an awful lot of onions, but don’t be scared, they will disapper like magic in the pan and then disappear in an even more magical fashion when you eat the marmalade later on.

If you are not by this point collapsed in a wash of onion chopping tears, let the onions cook in the olive oil and soften them over a low heat for 10 minutes or so. Add the garlic, red wine, mustard, vinegar, sugar (or in my case date purée – soaked dates, mooshed up with a hand held processer type thing with some of the soaking water) and salt & pepper.

thats a lot of onions

Bring the contents of the pan to the boil. Stir well, then reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Cover with a lid and cook for 30mins or until onions are well softened. Then they might look a little like this:

not quite so many onions now

Remove the pan lid and increase the heat, cook, stirring occasionally until the onion mixture is thick and well browned, they will go browner and stickier the longer you leave them.

where did they all go?

Voila! Magic onions. So so tasty. It keeps for a week or so in the fridge. I also popped it into jars that I had prepared as if for a preserve – sterilised etc, so I’m hoping they will last even longer, so far so good!

It tarts up any sandwich and makes it very fancy, is great on the side of organic sausage and mash, and generally livens up and adds a bit of flair to any otherwise potentially ‘slightly on the dull side’ plate of food – brilliant! I also quite enjoyed it smeared onto oat cakes, even better with a bit of goats cheese on the top – oh la la.

Enjoy!