Onion Gravy

Ingredients

• 4 onions, sliced thin
• 40 g butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp sugar
• 25 g plain flour
• 700 ml good vegetable or beef stock
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
• a few sprigs of thyme

Method

1. Start the onions low

   Cook the onions in the butter, oil and sugar over a low heat with a pinch of salt, stirring occasionally. The salt draws water out and the sugar helps them along, but there is no shortcut past 30 minutes.

   30 min

2. Let them catch

   Once they are deep brown, let them stick very slightly and scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Those sticky brown deposits are the flavour — just do not let them blacken.

   5 min

3. Flour, then stock

   Stir in the flour and cook for two minutes, then add the stock gradually, stirring, and bring to a simmer.

4. Simmer and sharpen

   Simmer for 10 minutes until it coats a spoon, then add the balsamic and worcestershire sauce. That acid at the end is what stops a sweet onion gravy tasting cloying.

   10 min

5. Season last

   Taste and season only now — stock reduces and concentrates, and gravy salted at the start is very hard to rescue.