Do you have a great red onion jam or chutney

[holsareacoming]

I have a ham I want to cook this week for friends coming and wanted to serve a red onion jam/cutney - do you have a great recipe tried and tested?

Rick Stein's Onion Confit:

100g/4oz butter
750g/1 half lb onions, peeled and thin sliced
75g/3oz granulated sugar
7tblsp sherry vinegar
250ml red wine
salt and black pepper

Fry onions in butter. Add sugar. Cook slowly for 45 mins, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and caramelised.
Add wine and vinegar and cook for another 10 mins until mix is reduced and turned a dark mahogany colour.
Stir in 1 tsp salt and 1tsp black pepper.
Cool but do not chill.

This is lovely - I've made it using olive oil instead of butter then you can stick it in the fridge without it going claggy. Also used red onions and/or shallotts and have swapped the sherry vinegar for a cheap balsamic one which was fabulous with brown sugar instead of granulated.

Basically, it's very flexible and forgiving and copes well with whatever you've got in your store cupboard. Keeps nicely in a jar in the fridge if you go the oil route.

Hope this helps.

umm sounds lovely, I dont have any balsamic damn! Will have to go out later. Thanks

or you could try this recipe, no balsamic required. There are a few variations on www.mydish.co.uk as well, don't forget to join the GOSH group while you're there!

2kg red onions or regular onions
4 garlic cloves
140g butter
4 tbsp olive oil
140g golden caster sugar
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
pinch of chilli flakes (optional)
75cl bottle red wine
350ml sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
200ml port

Method:

Halve and thinly slice the onions, then thinly slice the garlic. Melt the butter with the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan over a high heat. Tip in the onions and garlic and give them a good stir so they are glossed with butter. Sprinkle over the sugar, thyme leaves, chilli flakes if using and some salt and pepper. Give everything another really good stir and reduce the heat slightly. Cook uncovered for 40-50 minutes, stirring occasionally. The onions are ready when all their juices have evaporated, they're really soft and sticky and smell of sugar caramelising. They should be so soft that they break when pressed against the side of the pan with a wooden spoon. Slow cooking is the secret of really soft and sticky onions, so don't rush this part.
Pour in the wine, vinegar and port and simmer everything, still uncovered, over a high heat for 25-30 minutes, stirring every so often until the onions are a deep mahogany colour and the liquid has reduced by about two-thirds. It's done when drawing a spoon across the bottom of the pan clears a path that fills rapidly with syrupy juice. Leave the onions to cool in the pan, then scoop into sterilised jars and seal. Can be eaten straight away, but keeps in the fridge for up to 3 months.