Name: Red Onion Confit
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 2.5 lb Julienne red onions; 1 oz Butter; 1 t Caraway seeds; 1 t Fresh sage, chopped; 1 t Fresh thyme, chopped; 5 oz Red wine; 5 oz Dark balsamic vinegar; 3 oz Honey

If You Don’t Use Enough, You Didn’t Caraway

For the most part, sources have concurred that the spices and herbs in this series do come mostly from where they think they do. That’s a good thing. There have been a few quibbles, but generally it can be considered a consistently agreed upon lineage.

Caraway defies such precision, with origins being suggested Western Asia, Europe, North Africa, and ancient traces found in Switzerland as well as Ancient Rome.

Adding to the vastness of its reputation are various cultures differing identifications, “with names deriving from the Latin cuminum (cumin), the Greek karon (again, cumin), which was adapted into Latin as carum (now meaning caraway), and the Sanskrit karavi, sometimes translated as ‘caraway’” and sometimes called fennel. As if that wasn’t more than enough of an identity crisis, some think the name came from Arabic.[1]

With our minds abuzz about the confusing provenance and nomenclature, that is both and herb and a spice seems to be almost too much. As it happens, it is not. It is just the right amount.

Red Onion Confit

A nice sweet/tart condiment for a charcuterie board or simply cheese and crackers. Also can be served warm with lamb, goose or duck dishes or as a component to a sandwich. Yum!

Course Condiment

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Author Todd Misener

Ingredients

Red Onion Confit

2.5 lb Julienne red onions
1 oz Butter
1 t Caraway seeds
1 t Fresh sage, chopped
1 t Fresh thyme, chopped
5 oz Red wine
5 oz Dark balsamic vinegar
3 oz Honey

Instructions

Prepare the confit

Julienne the onions, place in a bowl and set aside.
Assemble and prepare the remaining ingredients. Chop the leaves only for the sage and thyme.
Place all ingredients in a pot large enough to hold them. Bring the ingredients just to a boil, reduce the heat and cook until the liquids have started to thicken, the onions well cooked and the flavor loses the raw vinegar tartness.
Remove from heat, allow to cool and store in a resealable jar in the refrigerator.

Recipe Notes

There are 1001 tricks to prevent your eyes from watering when you cut onions. The only sure, certain, and fool proof way I've discovered to not cry when cutting onions is have someone else do the cutting. You will not cry.

Kidding aside, there is no way I've seen which prevents what is a basic function of the onion. So, if that is more onion than you wish to cut, make half a recipe.

Most red onions will be in the 8-10 oz range, so it's not as many as it might sound.

The seeds are really fruits, a bit more crescent shaped than cumin and 5 ridges. All that does not make visual identification easier; for that we rely on the nose.

Frilly Frilly Cocoa-Pop

Caraway smells of a slight heat, not as pronounced as cumin, and has a deeper warmth with notes of dried orange rind. Caraway does not posses that “dirty feet” aroma sometimes found in cumin.

As a plant, it is in the carrot family and that means the leaves bear a strong resemblance to dill or fennel. The tops go to flower and make the fruits we call the seeds.

Those pretty frilly leaves can be eaten in salads, the stems used to flavor broths or soups, or if small enough, used in the vegetable mix for dinner, and the roots are edible, much like a parsnip.

Additionally the oil is used to flavor Kummel, a liquor produced in Germany and Russia and the Scandinavian Aquavit.[2]

Caraway appears to be easy enough to grow in the proper climate (check your zone and the plant’s needs) but I’ve not grown it. I have dabbled at saving seeds from cilantro and found I did not plan well for their falling off the stem, rolling about the kitchen and making for more work and mess than I expected. I’ve been put off growing plants for their seeds since. I suppose I should remedy that.

How do your recognize a spice? “Hey, I know you!”

Rye bread is easily the most well known current food where the flavor of caraway almost defines it.

Yes, rye has it’s own taste, but the caraway is just the perfect match, Martin to Lewis, so to speak. In addition to rye bread, caraway is very good friends and play well with cabbages, including sauerkraut, and in some Dutch cheeses. European palates seem more tolerant of caraway than American palates which might be the big reason we see it used seldom here, and then almost as a boutique flavor, not a front and center flavor.

Caraway can be a quick addition to a pot of boiled (simmer, actually) wedged red potatoes, added to sausages or eggs. It is a good companion to fatty dishes of foul-goose or duck-or pork shoulders. Consider a simple dish of largely cut chunks of pork shoulder, parsnips, carrots, celery, leeks, bay leaf, caraway and potatoes. Start everything in a simple stock and let it simmer for as long as is necessary for the pork to be fall apart tender. Add the potatoes, depending on size, 30-45 minutes before it is done. That’s good eating.

Caraway Can Still The Wind

Caraway, along with many of its cousins, is considered a carminative, which basically takes the wind out of you.

Aside from the seeds in and sometimes on rye bread, “Caraway is also a good remedy for colds and congestion, it contains mild antihistamines, antimicrobial compounds that help to relax the muscles that cause coughing spasms. Caraway seeds are also used in a number of medicinal preparations for treating disorders such as rheumatism, eye infections and toothaches. Caraway seed oil is used in treating fungus infections as well, and is effective against candida infections. Caraway is often used in combination with peppermint oil to relieve the symptoms of irritable bowel syndromeand indigestion.”[3]

Play With Your Food

Give caraway a chance with roasted beets and carrots. Try using it with the foods it likes but in different ways. The aroma is so nice, and with few cool nights left, some hearty German food might still be on the table.

This recipe looks intimidating. It is easier than it appears. Hat tip to Daniel Leader, baker and author. It is his recipe I used and shared my mild modifications.

Artisan Rye bread

This is a rather long process for making bread, but when you taste the results, you'll see why it matters. Caraway adds an extra element of flavor, but you are, of course, free to omit it.

The process from scratch takes time to develop the wild yeast which creates the flavor and leavening for the bread. The chef is the base from which the starter will be made and from that the final dough.

While this initial process is long in days, it isn't difficult. And, once you have the chef, rye bread is only a few days.

Course Bread

Cuisine American

Author Dann Reid