Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Flatbread

Overcooked caramelized onions

I'm frequently looking for appetizers I can make to bring places using things I tend to have on hand. I enjoy caramelized onions but standing at the range for 30-45 min is a drag, so I thought I'd try a couple of less attention-intensive methods.

Oven method for caramelized onions:

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.

2.5 lbs of onions sliced 1/8" thick on a mandolin, half a stick of butter, 1/2 tsp of salt. Melt butter in the Dutch oven, add onions and salt. Toss to thoroughly coat.

Place in oven with a lid and stir every 30 minutes for an hour. After that, remove lid and stir every 15 minutes until their the color you want.

I tried this and after just one hour, the onions were already much darker than I'd want, probably in part because I was doing a smaller batch. I used them on a batch of flatbread anyhow. Sourdough flatbread recipe

Next I decided to try a slow cooker method for caramelized onions.

I sliced 1.5 large onions into a stainless bowl and drizzled with oil. I put the bowl in our crockpot and cooked on low for 8 hours.

After 8 hours the onions were quite soft, but pretty wet and not especially browned. I transferred them to a skillet and sauteed them on med-low for a few minutes to evaporate and brown a bit. On tasting, they weren't really as good as ones done on the range, so I don't think this is the winning new method.

I made a batch of my sourdough flatbread and rolled it out, cut it in rounds using a kid-sized plastic cup and put them into a mini muffin pan. I parbaked these for 12-15 min at 350 convection, then put some onions in each and baked again another 5-8 min. I topped with a little crumbled feta. They tasted ok, the crusts had a nice sourdough flavor but got a bit tough. This isn't the winner I was hoping for.

I haven't tried this recipe yet, but hope to soon.

Fez’s Famous French Onion Soup

6 large mixed onions

2 cups chicken broth and 2 cups beef broth, or just 4 cups beef

2 cups water

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup dry sherry, not cooking sherry

4 tbsp butter

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp thyme

1 tsp rosemary

1 bay leaf

Gruyere and Edam cheese

baguette

Use the oven technique above to caramelize your onions and let it create a deep, brown fond. Deglaze with Worcestershire sauce and sherry, reduce till syrupy. Add stock, water, and herbs, and bring to a boil, then lower heat to simmer, covered for about half an hour. Taste and adjust seasoning. You may even want to add a bit more boiling water, you go ahead. Toast to brown and dry your baguette rounds (dry is important so they don’t fall apart in the bowl right away). Usual method: hot soup in French onion soup bowls, good layer of grated mixed cheeses. Into the oven under the broiler till you reach how you like it