Caramilised Red Onion Chutney

This is a real favourite of mine, I put this stuff on everything; sandwiches, cheese, meat, on cheese toasties...

Equipment needed for all:

Weighing scales
A large heavy bottom sauce pan or preserving pan
A wooden spoon
Jars with lids (preferably one which are safe to use with acids)
A jam funnel or large Pyrex jug
Baking tray
Knife and chopping board

Makes 4 small jars    Prep Time 30 mins   Cooking Time 1 hour  

Ingredients:

8 medium red onions
2 tbsp olive oil
1 red chilli
200ml red wine vinegar
100ml balsamic vinegar
200g brown sugar
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 bay leaves or a sprinkle or dried thyme/rosemary - this is to your taste, I used rosemary


Preheat the oven to 150°c/fan 140°c/gas 3

Place your clean jars, open with the lids next to them on a baking tray and place into the oven for around 15 minutes to sterilize then leave aside to cool. If you are using a jam funnel or Pyrex jug to get the jam into the jars then place this in alongside your jars to sterilize too.

Peel and chop all your onions, I do this by chopping in half through the root end, cut off the root then chop vertically towards where the root was so all your slices are even and not in different sized half moons.

Place your saucepan on to a medium heat, add your onions olive oil, chilli and garlic and cook slowly for around 20 minutes until the onions have broken down and become soft and sticky.

Once they have become dark and thick, add the sugar and vinegars along with the bay/thyme/rosemary, simmer for around 30 minutes or so until you have a chutney which when a wooden spoon is dragged through the centre of a pan it leaves a trench (trench?) which does not fill with vinegar. 

The colour should be dark and it should feel as though it has thickened.

Once this has been done, pour the jam extremely carefully into your sterilized Pyrex jug and then into your jars. Do not touch the inside of the jars or lids - you will unsterilize them. Fill right to the top and screw on the lid using a clean tea towel.

Once cool, add your labels.

This chutney really needs to be left to mature for at least a month or it will just taste of harsh vinegar. When it's ready basically just spread it on everything.