Photo: PinchMySalt.com

About this time last year, I got together with a few friends for a make-your-own pizza party. We each prepared a few potential toppings while the professional baker among us took charge of the crust. We stuffed mushrooms with feta and bacon as an appetizer, threw together a fresh corn salad, and drained the first bottle of wine well before the first pizzas were out of the oven. It was one of the most memorable dinners I ate that autumn, but the real standout, whose flavor stuck with me for an entire year, was the onion jam.

My friend Christine had brought a jar of it. It tasted jammy and sweet and vinegary like a savory, caramelized cookie. We roasted it on freshly made olive oil crust sprinkled with fresh rosemary, and the scent alone could have sold out a restaurant. Then we slathered it on another pizza under thin slices of cured ham and sun-dried tomatoes. If I had been alone in my own kitchen, I would have finished the jar off with a spoon.

This recipe is a riff on that idea. It results not in a spreadable jam but rather a melt-in-your-mouth mess of caramelized onions, ideal for pairing with fall dishes. Use it as a chutney with pork chops and apples, pile it on bratwurst with a grainy mustard, layer it on caraway rye with prosciutto, ricotta, and figs, or use it to dress up roasted chicken and root vegetables. Once caramelized, the onions will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator, so you can use them for many meals.

Onion Marmalade
Makes about 2 cups

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil, butter, or lard
3-4 sweet onions (about 2 lbs.), preferably Vidalia, peeled and very thinly sliced
1 tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp. ground black pepper
¼ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
¼ tsp. dried thyme
¼ tsp. ground allspice
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

1. In a large, heavy-bottomed skillet or Dutch oven, heat the oil until it glistens and runs freely across the pan (or melt the butter or lard). Add the sliced onions, salt, and pepper and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and limp, about 30 minutes.
2. Add the brown sugar, vinegar, thyme, allspice, and nutmeg. Continue to cook over a low flame, stirring occasionally, until the vinegar is evaporated and the onions are completely tender, another 30 minutes or so. Serve warm or at room temperature with pork, sausages, in a tart, in a sandwich on rye, etc.
3. Store the marmalade in a tightly sealed container in the fridge. It should keep for several weeks.