Onion "Butter"

The following recipe is from Cooking the Whole Foods Way by Christine Pirello, published by the Berkley Publishing Company, New York, NY, page 258.

The onion butter is very smooth and sweet. Jars of it make good gifts. It is really good on bread, on top of pizza, with noodles, or on top of grains.

Onion "Butter"
makes 5 or 6 servings

½ teaspoon light sesame oil

10 to 12 sweet onions (Vidalia or Walla Walla are the best), cut lengthwise into thin slices

sea salt

about 2 teaspoons spring or filtered water (no more, or the onion butter will be watery)

Heat the oil in a deep, heavy skillet over low heat. Add onions and several pinches of salt to bring out the juices. Cook the onions until they are wilted, stirring occasionally. This takes about 20 minutes. Sprinkle lightly with water and cook, covered, over very low heat (make sure the heat is really low) for at least 5 or 6 hours, or as long as 9 hours. The onions will become very creamy and will turn a dark caramel color.

Remove the cover and allow any remaining liquid to be absorbed before stirring.

This will keep in the refrigerator for about two weeks.