Caramelised onion gravy
70 min · 1 g protein · 54 cals / serving
The deep, glossy brown gravy that belongs on bangers and mash, a roast or a Yorkshire pudding: two big onions cooked down slowly until sweet and jammy, a glass of red wine boiled down over them, then beef stock, thyme, a dash of Worcestershire and a spoon of balsamic. The onions do the work, so it needs only a little butter.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 2 large onions, halved and thinly sliced
- 1 1/4 tsp granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1/2 tsp dried sage, or 1 sprig fresh
- 2 1/2 cups beef broth, a strong one
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp yellow mustard
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 1/2 tbsp water, cold
Steps
- Melt the butter with the oil in a wide, heavy pan over medium heat. Add the onions, sugar and salt and stir to coat. Cook 30 minutes, stirring every few minutes and turning the heat down if they catch, until the onions are soft, sticky and a deep caramel brown. Add a splash of water if the pan bottom darkens too fast.
- Pour in the wine, add the thyme and sage and scrape up every browned bit. Boil hard 2 minutes, then simmer 10 minutes until the wine has reduced by about half.
- Add the broth, Worcestershire, mustard, balsamic and pepper. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer gently 20 minutes so the onions give up their flavour. Fish out the herb stalks.
- Stir the cornstarch into the cold water, whisk it in and simmer 1–2 minutes until the gravy is glossy and coats a spoon. Taste for salt. Leave it chunky, or blend half for a smoother gravy that still has onion through it.
Good to know
Can I make it without wine?
Yes: use another 1/2 cup of beef broth plus an extra teaspoon of balsamic for the acidity. It is a little less deep but still very good, at about 66 instead of 60.
Can I make it richer?
Whisk an extra tablespoon of cold butter in at the end for a glossier, silkier gravy, at about 51 instead of 60.
Can I make it ahead?
It keeps 4 days in the fridge and freezes for 3 months. Reheat gently and loosen with a splash of broth, since it thickens as it cools.
Alternatives
Per
- Calories
- 59
- Protein
- (9%)
- 1 g
- Fat
- (43%)
- 3 g
- Carbohydrates
- (48%)
- 7 g
- of which sugar
- 4 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 400 mg
About 35% of the alcohol remains after cooking; the label counts only that.
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How
As written, 536 kcal goes into the pot and 1264 g of ingredients comes out as about 911 g of food: 59 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.