Cuisinart To The Rescue! Onion Marmalade Tart

This afternoon I was in my kitchen digging into the back of my cupboard (with one hand) looking for never-before-used food processor attachments. I needed them. A dear friend unloaded an armful of heavy, sweet smelling onions on me and in accordance with my culinary oath I could not waste them: I would make onion marmalade. One-handed.

As you can imagine, the prospect of slicing so many onions with my left hand was pretty daunting, considering it would more than likely lead to blood loss, as opposed to marmalade. So, as the proverbial saying goes, "necessity is the mother of invention" (although, clearly, I'm just a late comer), I put down the knife and plugged in the food processor.

Typically, the food processor is a never ending whir of aioli, hummus, bread crumbs, almond paste, things like that, all with the basic blade. But I was trying something new and if the slicing blade worked well with the onions, that is, not bruise and tear them to shreds, imagine what other vegetables I could whizz up???

The blades were so new they were still in their safety wrappers.  I snapped the equipment in place, topped and tailed the onions, and whirred them into the work bowl at top speed. 4 pounds of onions took 4 minutes (!)

Not as uniform as hand-prepped onions, but who the hell cared, they were sliced well enough and it was done. Within minutes I was sweating onions in butter and red wine. And to makes matters better, the end result was great. It made a fine onion jam, which then became a play on a pissaladiere-- the beloved French onion tart from Nice. And to think it was all because of the Cuisinart...

And it is no surprise that every chef loves that deft appliance, as unromantic as it should be. It's been so good to us... The industrial strength version, known as the Robot Coupe, has a motor that won't quit and a work bowl that won't break, no matter how much abuse it gets. And thanks to Julia Child and James Beard, who introduced the machine, back in 1973, the kitchen is an easier place to be.


I have one suggestion, if you are venturing to acquire one, do yourself a favor and get the original Pro Custom model. It has the trusty  start and stop flaps that are easy to use. The 14 cup will do wonders for you-- pie dough, pasta dough... and if your mom still has hers and it works... take it.

Onion Confit "Marmalade"

Recipe from the Chez Panisse cookbook-- Vegetables

Attach the slicing disc to the food processor

Trim, halve, peel, then quarter,  4 large red or white onions

and push through the feed tube with the motor running

In a large skillet or pot, saute onions with 4 tablespoons of butter (I used goat butter for a distinctive flavor) on medium heat for 10 minutes

Until soft and slightly caramalized

Add a bayleaf, a sprig of thyme, a tablespoon of sugar, 2 cups of red wine, a 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar, a 1/4 cup of sherry vinegar, and season with salt and pepper 

Cook for 1 1/2 hours, stirring every 20 minutes

Onion Jam should be dark, rich and savory sweet

Enjoy on a cracker, crostini, toast, or in pasta dishes with dark greens, or in sandwiches and paninis

Or, spread on a tart shell of puff pastry or any dough you prefer (I had some puff dough from Du Four in my freezer)

For a play on a French classic, pissaladiere, top with nicoise olives and brush the sides with egg and cream-- egg wash

Bake at 400' for 30-35 minutes

And save some for me