I have eaten these onions, at once caramel sweet and pickle sour, with bread and cheese, and that is really what I meant them for. But they also make a sticky accompaniment for a roast—maybe a fillet of lamb or pork—and are good on the side with cold roast beef, kept pink and sweet. I serve them warm rather than hot or chilled.

Ingredients

　　shallots – 30

　　olive oil – 2 tablespoons

　　butter – a thick slice

　　a clove of garlic

　　thyme – 4 bushy sprigs

　　cider vinegar – 3 tablespoons

　　raisins or golden raisins – 2 tablespoons

　　light muscovado sugar – 2 tablespoons

　　Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Peel the shallots. Warm the olive oil and butter in a small roasting pan or ovenproof baking dish. Peel the garlic and slice it thinly, add to the butter, then put in the shallots and the thyme leaves, stripped from their stems. Add the cider vinegar, an equal amount of water, the raisins or golden raisins, and the muscovado sugar. Season with salt and black pepper and bake for forty to fifty minutes, stirring once or twice, until the shallots are sticky and sweet-sour. They should be soft enough to crush between your fingers and thumb. If they are browning too quickly, then cover with aluminum foil.

　　Tender