This week, a (very generous) client gave me a big bag of local Vidalia onions.  Thanks to their amazing natural sweetness, this particular variety of onions caramelizes very well. To caramelize anything means just what you think it does; cooking something long enough to where its natural sweetness shines through and the finished product has a lovely, deep brown color.  Think of when you sear a piece of meat in a non-stick pan; if you cook it long enough and over the right heat, you get that tasty brown crust; same with seared scallops, roasted acorn squash, the topping on a homemade upside down cake….and the list goes on and on.

With this bag of Vidalia onions, I decided to make a big batch of caramelized onions cooked low-and-slow in my Dutch oven along with some olive oil, butter, salt, pepper and fresh herbs.  A splash of white wine towards the end to release any brown bits from the pan and voilà: caramelized onions are born.  For this dish, I served some of the onions underneath roasted green beans, along with some mushrooms and some crispy prosciutto chips. Caramelized onions freeze very well, so that next time you are craving a bowl of homemade French Onion Soup, or even a simple side for a roast chicken or stuffing for a pork tenderloin, defrost away and enjoy!

(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)

Tagged: caramelized onions, cremini mushrooms, green beans, green beans and mushrooms, haricots verts, mushrooms, prosciutto, prosciutto chips, roasted green beans, roasted haricots verts, side dish