Let’s talk caramelisation 👩🍳
You can caramelise a multitude of things, but it’s a really easy way of changing up your veg in particular. I’ve done red onions above but you can apply the below to almost anything!
The science here is that the sugar reacts with the high heat, giving you a deep brown colour. The whole process can take up to 45 minutes and there are loads of variations
1. Chop your chosen veg and cook in some oil in a wide based pan that’s almost cold to begin with.
2. You want your veg to sweat and slow cook as much as possible as you bring the heat up to high to intensify the browning and then back down to medium. If you can cover your pan with a lid, do but it’s not necessary
3. Lash in some butter. This is key.
4. Your chosen veg should now be changing form and softening and the butter melted. Let the steam escape and uncover the lid if you’ve been using one. Scrape any sticky bits from the bottom of the pan and stir continuously.
5. Continue to lower the heat from high as the butter and veg starts to brown.
6. Brown sticky bits are ✨good ✨. They are in fact key. So keep scraping and when you can’t get them off, pour some water in to deglaze the bottom of the pan and shake them loose. Do this as many times as necessary.
7. If dealing with a not naturally sweet-ish vegetable, feel free to shake in a tbsp of soft brown sugar. This is not always necessary but can give you some added flavour if your inner adolescent still hasn’t made peace with plain veg. A pinch of salt will also draw out the flavour of your veg
8. You will know by the colour and texture once you’ve hit your desired level of caramelised veg. Onions, Brussel sprouts, peppers, chillis, even carrots are all stunning done like this and can look way more impressive than they actually are.
These onions are perfect on burgers (see my last post) or in a brunch or whatever you fancy
