It doesn’t take much to make something
plain look special. Photo by Hannah
Kaminsky | THE NIBBLE.

 
If you’re artistic, there are books on vegetable garniture where you can indulge your talent for carving to create edible masterpieces for each plate:

 
Take a look at our article, Garnish Glamour, which has dozens of ideas for sweet and savory foods.

If you tried the caramelized onions in the recipe below, you may already be hooked.

If you want to make large quantities of caramelized onions, you can use a slow cooker. It spares you from having to constantly stir the onions. However, the onions don’t get browned as they do in a skillet. You can try browning them in a hot skillet before serving.

Watch how in this video, which combines the caramelized onions with mashed potatoes (so delicious!). While the video doesn’t add salt or pepper to the slow cooker, add some; then taste and adjust the seasonings at the end of cooking.

In the case of Dave’s Gourmet Masala Marinara pasta sauce, the result is a delightful fusion of Italy and Southeast Asia.

Marinara is the classic Italian tomato sauce served with spaghetti and meatballs, atop pizza, veal and chicken Parmigiana, and as a dipper with fried zucchini and mozzarella sticks. A good sauce will be made from lush tomatoes, fresh basil, garlic, onions and oregano.

Masala is the Hindi word for a mixture of spices.*
*While “masala” is an Indian word, the predominant flavors are both Indian and Thai.

The sauce is versatile, pairing well with chicken, lamb, pasta, pork, rice, seafood and vegetables.

We also tasted Dave’s Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce, the first sauce we’ve come across made from squash. If you’re a butternut squash fan (we are!), try it and let us know what you think.

While it provided an interesting change of pace, THE NIBBLE tasting team wasn’t keen on the change—and we don’t know why. We really enjoy pumpkin ravioli, where the squash is inside of the pasta. So why didn’t we like a purée of squash atop our pasta?

We have no idea. We’re going to get another jar and try it as a sauce for chicken and fish.

You can purchase Dave’s all-natural sauces online at DavesGourmet.com.
  

[2] Caramelized onions, shown here atop a Brie crostini, are also delicious on grilled cheese. The difference between bruschetta and crostini (photo © Paul Binet | iStock Photo).

[3] Brats with caramelized onions. How about hosting a DIY bratwurst party (photo © Kelsey Todd | Unsplash)?

[4] Yellow onions are the best for caramelizing, although some people use red onions (photo © Good Eggs). Check out the different types of onions.

Caramelized onions are great culinary treat—inexpensive, easy to make—that few of us enjoy often enough.

You can caramelize any type of onion. Sautéing slowly brings out rich, sweet onion flavor as the natural sugars in the onions caramelize.

Start with standard yellow onions, then try other varieties to see which you prefer (red onions add more color).

Slather caramelized onions on burgers and sandwiches, on pastas and pizzas, as a condiment with egg, fish and meat dishes or as a garnish for soups. Garnish mashed potatoes and rice.

Toss them into a green salad or grilled vegetable plate with some goat cheese.

Try a small batch with oil and another batch with butter. Then, vary the types of onions, to see which recipe you prefer.

You can also vary the recipe by adding sliced mushrooms.

NOTE: Once sautéed, a large union results in a much smaller amount of cooked onion. If this is your first batch, consider it a trial so you’ll know how many onions to use next time.

FOOD TRIVIA: Standard onions actually have more sugar than the more expensive sweet onion varieties. Sweet onions seem sweeter because they contain fewer acrid sulfur compounds.

Below:

> The recipe for caramelized onions.

> Favorite ways to use caramelized onions.
 
Elsewhere on The Nibble:

> The history of onions.

> The different types of onions: a photo glossary.

> The year’s 6 onion holidays.

> More uses for onions.

Recipes:

> Gourmet onion dip with caramelized onions.

> Lentils and rice with caramelized onions.

> Cheese strata with kale, saisage. and caramelized onions.
 
 
RECIPE: CARAMELIZED ONIONS

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. SLICE the top off the onion, peel, halve and slice into half rings.

2. ADD the butter/oil to a large, heavy skillet and turn heat to medium-high until it begins to bubble. If you are using butter, note that it can burn if overheated, so keep an eye on it.

3. ADD the onions to the skillet and stir to coat with the fat. Add the salt, pepper and optional sugar and/or thyme.

4. STIR constantly until the onions begin to darken and soften, about 5 minutes. Some slices will stick to the bottom of the pan. If you are having difficulty scraping them up as you stir, deglaze the pan with a tablespoon of water, broth, wine or beer. You can deglaze as often as needed.

5. CONTINUE stirring until the onions are golden brown, translucent and the texture you desire—from al dente to soft—up to 20 minutes. Remove from the stove and add the splash of balsamic vinegar.
 
Enjoy them and make another, much larger batch immediately—you’ll definitely want more!
 

[4] How about a caramelized onion pizza? This one also has barbecue chicken! Here’s the recipe (photo © This Pilgrim Life).

Caramelized onions add sweet, savory depth to dishes. Here are just a few popular ways to use them:

 
 

[5] Caramelized onions are so delicious, we can eat them from the pan. That’s why we always make a double (or triple) batch (photo © Kelsey Todd | Unsplash).
 

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

At most wine tastings, there’s a selection of cheeses, breads, and other foods to go with the wine. At this Riesling tasting, the only food served was sushi—plus dumplings and spring rolls targeted at those who don’t eat sushi.

It was a perfect pairing. Those who don’t drink beer or saké have a winner in a Riesling, part of a quintet of other white wines that includes crisp, high-acid Riesling and Pinot Blanc, spicy and aromatic Gewürztraminer and Viognier. Champagne and other sparklers go well, too.

Riesling, Gewürztraminer, and Pinot Blanc are grown in both the Alsace region of France and in Germany. Viognier is largely Alsatian, but Germany has been amping up its production. All four varieties are grown in California, where they are known as “the Rhone clones.”

Rieslings have changed substantially over the last 20 years. In an effort to gain more fans worldwide, vintners have moved away from the traditional style of Riesling with its notes of petrol and flowery, sometimes heady aromas. Today, the wines are made to be food-friendly across a rainbow of cuisines. The crispness and acidity are just right for sushi.

Riesling is vinified into six categories, in order of increasing sugar levels based on the ripeness of the grapes when picked. Don’t let the word “sugar” scare you away: The slight sweetness in Kabinett and Spätlase wines goes very well with sushi.

Kabinett Rieslings, with the lowest sugar levels, are the best place to start.