You often see recipes for caramelized onions saying it only takes a few minutes. Those recipes lie. You can brown onions quickly, but to really caramelize them and bring out the sweetness takes time. The time it takes is well worth it. At the end you will have a savory and sweet pile of caramelized onions that you can add to vegetable broth for a French Onion Soup, use a a topping for pizza, or put on a sandwich.  You can make these omitting the flour and sherry at the end, but if you plan on using them for a soup, the flour and sherry are a must.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour
Yield: about 2 cups

Ingredients:

2 TBL vegan butter
1 TBL vegetable oil
5 large onions (about 3 lb.), halved and thinly sliced
½ tsp. salt
2 Tbs. all-purpose flour*
⅓ cup dry sherry*

Directions:

1. Heat butter and oil in heavy, large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and salt, and cook 5 minutes, stirring often. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook 45 minutes, until onions are very tender.  Uncover, sprinkle with a little more salt and stir.  Cook another 15 minutes uncovered to allow them to reduce and caramelize, stirring occasionally. You can stop here if you want to. However, for a extra flavor, proceed to step 2.  If you are planning on using them in a soup, then step 2 is a must.

2. Stir in flour, and cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Add sherry and raise heat to medium.  Cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, stirring constantly.