Onion Jam

To go with the cream cheese, served fresh on plain bread. Delicious. Also had it with last nights bangers and mash, a classic combination wth all things porcine. Cold with cheese it coils up in candied stickysweet mounds of caramelised onion, with the deep taste of port, and a little Rosemary humming just underneath everything else.

Ingredients

3 medium sized Red onions, very thinly sliced.

As much butter as you think you need. I think I need a lot. about 50-60g is good.

100ml of cider vinegar.

A generous splash of port.

100-125g of raw cane sugar.*

A large srpig of Rosemary.

2 or 3 cloves of garlic, crushed or minced.

Salt and black pepper, to taste.

Slowly sweat the onions, garlic and rosemary in the butter until soft, and golden. About 12 to 15 minutes. Add the cider vinegar, sugar, and port, and bring to the boil. Simmer for about 30 to 40 minutes. 40 minutes gives a really thick set for your jam, 30 gives something like a syrupy consistency. Add salt and black pepper to taste.

*I played around with sugar and vinegar quantities. Too much sugar - I tried 120 g, overpowered the jam. Still good, but too strong for what it was accompanying - sausages. The earlier version, with the above quantity, was more balanced. The acidity, port flavours, sugar and rosemary all came through.