Recipe - Daussades

4 tablespoon Butter
3 pound Red onions; medium sized
1 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar
1 One fourth cup Red wine; full bodied such
as Zinfandel or Petit Sirah
Salt & pepper to taste
Sherry wine vinegar
One fourth cup Ham, baked; minced

"Once upon a time, one rainy summer day in France, hungry, damp, lost, and
tired in a hill town overlooking the stormy Mediterranean, I found a tiny
auberge. Just like in the books, the patron welcomed me warmly and led me
to a tiny table beside the fire. Before I could even slip out of my damp
shoes he reappeared with a glass of red wine, a basket of crisp rolls, and
a heavenly dish that he called "daussades." Whatever you call it, it is
bliss. This recipe is as close as I can come to the delicious dish that
warmed and restored me on that stormy day. The long, slow cooking of the
onions produces a thick, velvety sauce, sweet and a little tart. (The
minced ham doesn't hurt either.)

Halve the onions lengthwise and slice thinly. In a 4quart enameled or
stainless steel saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add onions, swirl
them around, cover, and sweat them for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Uncover and increase the heat to mediumhigh. Cook, stirring frequently,
until the onions are glazed and golden, about 15 minutes. Add the balsamic
vinegar and boil down for 23 minutes to glaze further.

Reduce heat to low, add the wine, and cook, stirring often, until the
onions are soft and a beautiful deep brown, 1 One half to 2 hours.

Season with salt, a grinding or two of black pepper, and a tablespoon or so
of sherry wine vinegar. Stir in the ham. Serve hot, at room temperature, or
warm.

AFTERTHOUGHTS: Daussades is wonderful with crusty bread, on toast and
served with drinks, with grilled chicken, or liver, or steak, or, or, or...
You may also like to try it with sweet Spanish onions.

This will keep, refrigerated, for 2 or 3 days, so don't wait for a rainy
daymake it sometime when you have a few hours, then get it out and warm
it up when you need it. It will be a star in your culinary crown; that's a
promise.

Source: "Lilies of the Kitchen" by Barbara Batcheller
Posted to MMRecipes Digest V3 #291

Date: Wed, 23 Oct 1996 01:39:32 +0000

From: Linda Place placel@worldnet.att.net