1. Cut your onions however you like them (we say cross-ways for a sandwich, straight down for soup, etc.) and put them in a stainless steel or aluminum pan -- a nonstick one won’t work.
2. Cook the onions on low heat for about 15 minutes or until they get transparent. If desired, throw in a little mashed garlic and thyme to enhance the flavor.
3. Turn the heat up and let the onions start to brown a bit. Use a spatula to scrape the brown off the bottom of the pan, letting it mix in with the onions.
4. Deglaze the onions three to four times, first with water and then with whatever you’d like to flavor your onions (wine and chicken stock both work well). To deglaze, put just a bit of liquid in the bottom of the pan, which will wash off all of the brown and allow it to become part of the food.
5. Remove the onions from the stove and, if you’d like, mix in some balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.
Nestpert: Carla Hall cooked her way into the finals on season five of the award winning Bravo show, Top Chef. Today, she continues to cook from the heart as an entertaining expert, and owner and Executive Chef of Alchemy Caterers in Washington, DC.
Find out how to choose veggies for your garden.
-- Erin Walters
Jul 21, 2010
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