Confit of Slow-Cooked Onions

I know, right? Ya'll, I've used nearly 3 pounds of onions in these past two crock pot recipes, most of them featured in this pretty little confit. But let's start at the beginning, shall we?

One day as I was flittering around the internet, I found an article about a woman who now makes a living selling her family's recipe for salsa. No, I don't remember who. No, it doesn't matter. What caught my attention was that she was amazed watching her husband put maple syrup on his pancakes. Her family would top them with salsa. It has such a fresh, green taste that they used it just like salt and pepper to flavor everything, even dishes that already had a sauce on them. This really stuck with me and now I've been seeing salsas, chutneys, and the like in a whole new way. It's all suddenly exciting. And now here we are.



That doesn't mean there weren't bumps in the road. Specifically, classes getting in the way of recipe prep time. The recipe called for softening up the onions on low in the crock pot for FIVE HOURS. That's all well and good, but we actually had class that day (I was expecting the teacher to be absent) so I softened them on the stove instead. Then even after more than the requisite time in the crock, my mixture wasn't sticky like it was supposed to be. It was still soupy. Back to the stove with me.



How did it taste? ...Um. Well, the thing is... this was around the time that school was slamming me with stuff and I stopped cooking for a while and started eating crap food again. So... I didn't actually eat any. What I tasted on the spoon was good. But as far as actually putting on the chicken it was meant for, no. Didn't happen. *facepalm* Don't say it. I know.

If you'd like to ignore my idiocy here, I'll make it up to you over here with a chocolate face mask recipe that I fondly call the chocolate faceplant.

Confit of Slow-Cooked Onions
Slow Cooker Recipe Book

Serves 6

2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 T butter
1 1/4 lbs onions, thinly sliced
3-5 fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
2 T light brown sugar, plus a little extra
2 T balsamic vinegar, plus a little extra (I used a lot more of both the vinegar and sugar)
1/2 cup red wine
1/4 cup ready to eat prunes, chopped
salt and pepper

1. Put oil and butter in crock pot and melt on high for 15 mins. Add onions and stir to coat.

2. Cover pot with lid and place folded dishcloth on top. Cook onions for 5 hours, stirring several times to ensure even softening.

3. Sprinkle well with salt and pepper. Then add thyme, bay leaf, sugar, vinegar, and red wine. Stir until sugar is completely dissolved, then stir in prunes.

4. Re-cover and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 more hours, until it's thick and sticky. (This took me way longer. Seriously, I just shoved it in the fridge and cooked in down in a normal pan the next day.) Adjust seasonings, sugar, and vinegar to taste. Store in refrigerator. Serve warm or cold.