When one cooks with red onions, red wine and red Balsamic vinegar the results tend to be very, well, dark…. almost black.
This may seem like a fussy dish to make but it really isn’t.
The polenta is made quickly and can cool on the counter until needed or in the fridge for hours. The onions just need a glance and a stir occasionally.
Slow cooking is the key.
I made the marmalade again, without the bacon, and cooked even longer last weekend. I used it to stuff pork tenderloins for a dinner party.
We were all happy with the result.
Red Onion Marmalade on Polenta Points
Total time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1/8 cup polenta
- 1/2 cup (4oz, 120ml) chicken stock
- 1 large red onion or 2 medium, finely chopped
- 1 1/2oz (45gr) bacon, chopped
- 1 tbs olive oil plus a bit for polenta
- 3 tbs red wine
- 3 tbs Balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbs brown sugar
- olives to garnish
Instructions:
- Heat chicken stock to boiling in a small saucepan.
- Stir in polenta and cook, 5 minutes, stirring, until very thick.
- Lightly oil cling film or foil.
- Spoon the polenta on, flatten it and shape it into a square (or any shape you like).
- Allow to cool completely.
- Sauté bacon and onion in olive oil over medium heat until bacon starts to crisp and onion is just starting to get tender.
- Reduce heat to low and cook slowly for 20 minutes.
- Add wine, vinegar, sugar and stir well. Continue to cook slowly until almost dry.
- Remove from heat and set aside.
- Cut the polenta into 6 triangles and place on 2 plates.
- Divide the red onion marmalade and spoon onto polenta.
- Garnish with olives and serve.
That’s all for this day. Summer heat has returned with a vengeance.
I’m going to go out and watch the sunset with the dogs and try to cool off.
Well, I watch the sunset…. They bark at the cows.
The cows are in the same field all day long, meandering back and forth from one end to the other. For some reason, known only to the dogs, they become a serious threat as the sun sets and need to be barked at incessantly in order to keep them under control.
They are never barked at in daylight.
Perhaps they’re werecows and I just don’t realize it…..
Yummy looking marmalade!
You should be glad the dogs only bark at the clouds in the evening. My blue dobe barks at the bugs, the wind, leaves, shadows, noises…you get the picture… *sigh* It’s very tiring, but working constantly with him is making it marginally better.
nightsmusic, yes, the barking gets tiring. Mine also bark at the cars and the tractors… Luckily, there are not many. The neighbors assure me that they don’t hear it – but I do!
I LOVE the look of the onion marmalade! I bet it would be really good on thin thin thin grilled toast points too. (I confess I’m a little weird about polenta – just can’t stop thinking of porridge)
Hahahahaha I love that the dogs bark at the cows at night. It must be a comforting alarm for the farmer, knowing that the dogs will go nuts if the cows sneak out to escape in the middle of the night.
Oh no…. the dogs are not outside at night – other than for business purposes. Even with just the windows open it takes ages for then to get used to night noises and stop barking at every little sound. If they were outside I would never sleep! Polenta reminds me of corn bread…. when it is made thick, cooled, then fried (or not)
This looks so yummy. Think it will appear as a starter for one of our holiday meals. With lardons instead of bacon probably.
Polenta points like this are usually fried. I’ve had good luck spraying both sides lightly with olive oil, then popping under the broiler just to brown and crisp them up a bit.
Stay cool!
Kaye, well, I actually used ‘lardons fumee’. The polenta is usually fried – I was just being lazy….. And it was hot in the kitchen lol