KosherEye.com
By Lauren Stacey Berdy
Why not use the natural sugar content and inherent spice of Manischewitz Concord Grape Wine to do something besides build your Passover charoset?
This red onion preserves can become a sidekick waiting inside your fridge. Microwave the prepared preserves to baby bottle warm, and then serve along with your brisket, or a roasted chicken or turkey.
Spoon the preserves atop the Passover potato knishes or the Chanukah latkes. Or place a bowl of the preserves alongside the chopped liver during Yom Kippur breakfast.
Why should food ever walk alone if it can have a traveling companion? A condiment is companion food. It is the Ollie to the Stan.
More life happens in pairs. Camaraderie can happen on the plate as well. Condiments animate cooked and raw food, playing one taste against another.
They socialize together, forming an alliance that can possibly be beguiling to the eater. Or not…
I like ketchup with my eggs, a combo I inherited from my father. I also quickly learned that it’s not for everyone.
Red Onion Preserves ain’t ketchup on eggs, and you do have to like onions…
This condiment is way more user friendly and won’t be sneered at.
Recipe from: Remaining Kosher Volume Two: A Cookbook for All with a Hechsher in Their Heart
UDJ Productions All text © 2016 Lauren Stacy Berdy All photos © 2016 John White
Ingredients
2 lbs. red onions (about 6 medium onions), peeled
1½ cups sugar
1½ cups Manischewitz Concord Grape Wine
2 bay leaves
2 cinnamon sticks
½ teaspoon cloves
2 orange peels
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Directions
Onions
Using a mandoline:Put the mandoline with the slicing attachment across the width of the bowl. Slip a potholder on your working hand for extra safety. Thinly slice the onions into ¼” rounds.
Or by hand: Use a sharp knife to thinly slice the onions.
Put the sliced onions in a bowl. Add in all of the ingredients and stir. Make sure that the spices are embedded and not just on the surface.
Seal the bowl. Let the contents sit at room temperature for at least 8 hours.
Finishing
Scape the ingredients into a wide saucepan. Simmer over medium heat. The liquid will start to boil. Turn down heat to a low simmer. Let the onions cook for about 45-50 minutes.
There should be about ½ cup of liquid remaining. If not, continue cooking
Remove saucepan from heat. Put a few onions and liquid on a plate. Put the plate in the freezer for 5-8 minutes. Remove the plate from the freezer. The liquid may be in a jelly like stage and stay separated when you run your finger through.If not, cook for a few more minutes and retest. Scrape the sample back into the pot.
Place the cooked preserves in clean washed and dried canning jars while still warm and seal. Turn the jars upside down on counter and let cool.
Alternately, store in a sealed container. Refrigerate.
Notes
Recipe: Kosher, Passover, parve