Caramelised Onion Chutney

Going Vegetarian in January!

Our daughter Kat challenged Alan and I to go vegetarian in January. I have found it one of the easier dietary challenges and cannot say I am missing meat at all. (And yes, I did cook a roast chicken yesterday for Sunday Lunch, but I had a friend coming over and a roast was called for!) So far it has involved coming up with meatless variations of our favourite foods such as vegetarian lasagne, grains with roasted vegetables. I see a lot of soup in our future. We have also been exploring restaurants that offer a variety of vegetarian options, not always an easy call in Denmark’s meat and fish loving capital city.

On Kat’s last day in Copenhagen we waited for over an hour in the cold and rain to see the Queen of Denmark. At the beginning of each year, Queen Margrethe holds a  New Year reception at Christiansborg Palace. Representatives of the Armed Forces, Emergency Services , big organizations of Denmark and organizations under patronage of the Royal Palace are invited. The Crown Prince Frederik and and his Australian wife, Crown Princess Mary, are also present. At the end of the reception the Queen appears in a golden carriage which takes her back, through the center of Copenhagen, to her own palace, Amelianborg. All this takes place minutes from where we live, it is pretty cool.

Afterwards we went to the Union Kitchen for lunch. It is a fabulous casual dining experience in the center of Copenhagen, and a top spot for breakfast and brunch.

One of the dishes we ordered was Greens with Curried Lentils and Caramelised Onion Chutney. The chutney was amazing and added a depth of taste to the dish that really brought all the elements together. It turned plain old lentils into a complete treat.  Here is my version of the Chutney, which I made two days ago.  I used small white onions but suspect red onions would work really well too.  If I could find them easily here I would have gone for the large white or sweet onions, so use whatever you find.  I also added a little caramelised balsamic vinegar in my mix, a gift from Alan’s work colleagues. This would be perfect with some strong cheddar and of course fabulous with proper sausages when we welcome them back into our diet.  Perfect addition to gravy as well.

Caramelised Onion Chutney

Ingredients (makes one large jar)

1.5kg / 3 Lbs onions, peeled, halved and thinly sliced ( I used white cooking onions but suspect red onions would be fantastic too)

splash of olive and a knob of butter

100g/6oz/1 cups dark brown sugar

125ml/4fl oz/1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

150ml/5fl oz/5/8 cup wine vinegar

one tsp mustard seeds

bayleaf

pinch of salt

Method

Heat oil and butter in a large skillet or frying pan.

Add sliced onions and cook gently for around 20 minutes being careful not to let them brown.

Add three TBS of the brown sugar and continue to cook slowly for another twenty minutes.

Finally add remaining ingredients and simmer slowly for another 30 minutes.

Once cooled add the chutney to a sterilized jar.  I sterilize mine either by running them through a cycle of the dishwasher or filling with boiling water, making sure to pour water over the lid and seal.

I still also keep the jar in the fridge just in case!

Printable version of recipe below

Caramelised Onion Chutney January 8, 2018 Servings: one large jar, and maybe a small one Difficulty: Easy Print This A lovely onion chutney to serve with cheddar, sausages and add flavor to all sorts of salads and other dishes. By: Carolyn Eddie Ingredients 1.5kg / 3 Lbs onions, peeled, halved and thinly sliced ( I used white cooking onions but suspect red onions would be fantastic too) splash of olive and a knob of butter 225g/8oz/11/3 cups dark brown sugar 125ml/4fl oz/1/2 cup balsamic vinegar 150ml/5fl oz/5/8 wine vinegar one tsp mustard seeds bayleaf pinch of salt Directions Step 1 Heat oil and butter in a large skillet or frying pan. Step 2 Add sliced onions and cook gently for around 20 minutes being careful not to let them brown. Step 3 Add three TBS of the brown sugar and continue to cook slowly for another twenty minutes. Step 4 Finally add remaining ingredients and simmer slowly for another 30 minutes.Once cooled add the chutney to a sterilized jar.  I sterilize mine either by running them through a cycle of the dishwasher or filling with boiling water, making sure to pour water over the lid and seal. Step 5 I still also keep the jar in the fridge just in case!