Cooking Onions as a base for a sauce.

So many savoury recipes begin with frying or sweating the onions. It may sound very simple but it's an important step to get the base flavour into a dish so it's worth taking a bit of time to get it right. If the onions are overcooked they will catch and add a burnt flavour to the dish. The key is a light caramelisation to bring out the natural sweetness of the onions. Here is my method.

• Firstly, you need to chop your onions, as many as the recipe calls for (bear in mind that the more onions you have the longer it will take). The onions will be cooked for a long time so they don't need to be cut too finely.
• Warm a big pan over a low heat and add a generous amount of a neutral oil. All the onions will need to be coated to allow them to cook properly.
• Add the chopped onions to the pan and a sprinkle of salt to help draw out the moisture. The onions should sizzle lightly but the cooking should be gentle to avoid burning.

• Put a lid on the pan and cook for about 5 minutes till the onions start to go translucent.
• Now take the lid off and continue to cook slowly, stirring regularly, until the onions are a light golden brown colour. At this point the onions will be starting to disintegrate and will melt away when added to a sauce.

This is what they look like when they're finished, they have reduced down greatly and will now add a mild, sweet flavour to any dish.
 

This method can be used as a basis for a number of soups, stews, curries and many other dishes.