This oft overlooked garnish is hard to beat for wow factor but boy does it take patience and a watchful eye to make. Even a small distraction can result in burnt onions but the good news is that you can make it ahead of time (even a day ahead).

It has a desirable almost burnt flavour in isolation but it acts to bring that “missing something” when in combination with other ingredients in soups, burgers and salads.

It will take about 15 minutes of regular, gentle moving of them on a very low heat. You won’t be trying to get them crispy in the pan as that will happen when you drain them into paper towel and they cool.

Steps:

1. You start by slicing a few shallots and a garlic clove if you are using one.
2. Heat a really generous amount of olive oil in a sauce pan.
3. Add the shallot and garlic slices and move them often to stop them burning (you want to cook them evenly as a batch and not have some burnt and some underdone.
4. Keep cooking until the the shallots have absorbed a lot of the oil and they look a dark golden brown (see pictures below).
5. Pop them into some paper towel and let them cool and crisp up.
6. Take a sneaky “test” mouthful :).

Serving suggestion:

Enjoy,

PK