balsamic onion jam

one of the better food items we served at the café that i used to work at (aside from the aforementioned glorious granola) was, oddly enough, a condiment: a caramelized onion relish, helped along with balsamic vinegar and a little bit of sugar. sour, sweet and wildly addictive. we served it on sandwiches which, to be completely honest, did not do the jam justice: it was hidden underneath layers of roasted chicken, smoked bacon, heirloom tomatoes, garlicky aioli and dried out pumpernickel. (this might be bitterness talking; since i don't eat meat i never got to eat them.) and so, my favorite lunch snack, inhaled during those odd moments of restaurant lull right before a horde of customers, became wheat toast, smashed avocado and the onion relish, topped with coarse salt and black pepper. long after i got sick of granola with soymilk and blueberries, egg salad sandwiches and carrot cake, it was this open-faced toast that got me through the day.
and it's still just as good as i remember it. i made a big batch of the jam this weekend for sandwiches to feed a crowd--turkey and avocado--but i made sure to have extra so i could eat the vegetarian version (and, in my humble opinion, the better version) at home. i should also mention that the pictured avocado arrived in a box of similarly beautiful avocados, shipped to me by a friend in san diego. if anybody else has any surplus of seasonal produce that they don't want kicking around i will happily take it off their hands.
for the record, i am fully aware that the above picture looks like a bowl of worms. don't let it deter you, i'm serious.

caramelized onion balsamic relish
adapted from 'wichcraft
makes about 1 1/2 cups

• a glug of olive oil
• 4 medium onions, thinly sliced lengthwise (i.e. into strips rather than diced)*
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• a scant 1/4 cup sugar (i used turbinado; brown would be nice too)
• 2/3 cup balsamic vinegar

*i wouldn't recommend using a super sweet onion, such as vidalia, since you're caramelizing and adding sugar--it would be too much. plain old yellow onions do well here.

heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat until it slides easily across the pan. add the onions, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes, until the onions are soft. add the sugar and reduce the heat to medium-low. cook, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes, until the onions appear dry. add the vinegar and reduce the heat to low.

continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for about an hour, until the onions are soft and liquid has reduced and is very thickened. serve warm or at room temperature. store the relish in the refrigerator. it will keep for several weeks.