This forum ought to have some sort of warning or disclaimer about how it could be bad for your health. I was reading this thread and had to stop to fix a snack. Some thin slices off what's left of my last block of parm, some pickled onions [ cipolline ] and a glass of white wine. Some may gag, but have you ever tried an anchovy filet between two thin slabs of parmesan?
Doing a cucumber and onion fresh pickle is one approach, the previously mentioned cipolline another. Here's something you might want to try. It is simple but takes a while to cook. I do it either as a soup or what I call a marmelade to garnish a roast. Throw in some apple pieces during the slow braise and it is really good on pork.
2 - 3 medium sweet onions, Vidalia, Mayan, etc.
1 red onion
3 - 4 tablespoons butter
kosher salt
1/2 cup or so dry white wine
Heat a large, heavy skillet (one with a lid) over low heat, add the butter. Trim and peel the onions, cut in half along the equator. French each half into thin slivers. I should take some pictures of this part, it is much easier to do than explain. Basically you want to end up with all the onion pieces being maybe an inch or so in length.
Put about one onion's worth of slivers into the skillet. Sprinkle with a few generous pinches of the kosher salt. Put in another layer of onions, sprinkle with salt, another layer of onions, more salt, repeat until the onions are all in. Cover the skillet and do something else for 15 - 20 minutes or so. The bottom layer of the onions should be nice and soft, and if the heat is correct not browned. But if any browning does occur, don't worry about it, you may even want to encourage some browing later on. Stir up the mix trying to get the soft onions on top and the raw ones on the bottom. Cover, go away for another 15 - 20 minutes. Stir again, cover, wait. Repeat as neccessary until all the onions are fully cooked and soft, and you have what basically looks like onion porridge in the skillet. Total cooking time so far should be on the order of an hour and a half or so.
Bring the heat up to medium high and pour in the wine. Simmer, stir and reduce until you get a nice, syrupy consistency. At this point the onions will be very soft and sweet, as the long slow braise coupled with the alkaline salt has negated all of the acidic sulpher compounds that give onions their eye watering bite. But they still taste like onions.
At this point you can cool it for an onion marmelade. Or pour in a quart or two of beef stock, some black pepper, perhaps a dash of tarragon, simmer for a bit and make a sweet onion soup out of it.
The wine and cheese is gone, must be time to shut up.
mjb.
