Caramelized Onions

Directions

1. 1
   Slice onions into thin rings. It is important to try to get them all about the same size. It looks like a ton of onions, but they will reduce by 2/3 so you need to start with a lot.
2. 2
   Heat olive oil in a large saute pan on low. Low and slow is the key here. Put the onion slices in the pan. If you can't fit them all in, you can add more in as they start to cook down.
3. 3
   Toss them in the pan so that they are all coated with the oil. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar. Adding just a pinch of each will help the caramelization process immensely.
4. 4
   Now you are just going to let them cook, for about 30-40 minutes. Give them a stir about every five minutes so that they cook evenly and you can check and make sure they are not burning. The idea is that they will cook slowly, breaking down, releasing their natural sugars, and becoming buttery, smooth and sweet tasting. (You can use lots of caramelized onions in a recipe because when they cook up like this they lose all of their onion potency and just become beautiful and luscious.)
5. 5
   If you aren't going to use all of your caramelized onions immediately, you can store them refrigerated for a few days and use them in lots of ways.