<Pantry of Good Things

“Where’s the cream?” a friend said recently, peering into my refrigerator. “You’re a chef. Aren’t you supposed to have cream and fancy cheeses?” The tone of her voice suggested a professional deficiency, like a writer caught without pen and notebook, or a doctor patting his pockets in vain for a tongue depressor.

“Sorry,” I told her, “no cream today. But if you poke around you might find other good things in there.” Really good things, like garlic yogurt and preserved lemons, three-pepper paste and ginger-lemon syrup.

I’m a professional chef, and a home cook, and I’ve borrowed some things I’ve learned about in the restaurant world to make my cooking life at home both tastier and easier. My technique is simple—I enhance an ordinary pantry with a few really exceptional—and simple—homemade ingredients, what I call “my ten good things.” You don’t need all of them, you don’t even need most of them. In fact, your cooking life will take a sharp turn for the better if you just have one or two of them regularly on hand.

In my blog I'll introduce a new homemade pantry item (every now and again) as well as a few recipes that use that item. Let's start with caramelized onions, a favorite of mine.

It’s important to use fresh onions when making caramelized onions. If the onions are old and dry, they will start to toughen rather than cook to a melting point. When making caramelized onions, cut the onions with the grain, rather than across the grain. The onions will hold their shape through a long cooking time.

THE BASIC RECIPE

Makes 4 cups

Heat 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat.

Add 12 cups thinly sliced white onions, cut ¼ inch thick with the grain,

(about 2 pounds), ¼ cup chopped garlic and 3 bay leaves, fresh if possible. Season with Kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper, cover and cook 10 minutes to start to release the moisture. Uncover, reduce the heat to low and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden, caramelized and sweet, 30 to 40 minutes. Do not let them cook too fast, or they’ll dry out and burn, rather than caramelize; add a little water if they look too dry while cooking. Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup medium-dry sherry if you’d like, and cook 15 minutes. Cool completely. Remove the bay leaves and transfer to a storage container, cover and refrigerate.

The onions will last a week in the refrigerator, or several months in the freezer. If you are going to freeze them, put them in 1 cup containers.

This is a really yummy weekday meal. The hollow center of the bucatini gives the pasta a nice texture. If you can't find it in the market, any long thin pasta would work well.

I love the balance of the sweet onions with the bitter greens. This makes a great Sunday night supper.

Caramelized onions with capers and anchovies are delicious. Try this sauce on chicken or even fish.