Baked Onions with Thyme and Pomegranate Molasses
Serves 8
- 8 medium onions
- 50ml pomegranate molasses
- 100ml olive oil
- 2 tbsp thyme leaves, finely chopped
- 50g butter
- 50g hard and strong British cheddar, such as Anster
- sea salt and black pepper
Unctuously soft and sweet, these baked onions are a fabulous side dish. Their caramelised sweetness is a perfect foil for the vibrant and rich combination of sweet and sour that you’ll get from the pomegranate molasses. You can use balsamic vinegar warmed with a tablespoon of caster sugar if you can’t get hold of pomegranate molasses, but it is widely available and worth searching for.
My preferred cheddar for this recipe is the slightly tangy Anster made by the St Andrews Farmhouse Cheese Co. in the East Neuk of Fife. But as always, support your local cheesemaker and use a cheddar made near you.
- Grease a muffin tin and preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Trim the root of each of the onions and about 2cm off the top, then peel.
- Mix the pomegranate molasses (or balsamic), olive oil and half the thyme leaves together, and season with salt and pepper.
Place an onion in each cavity of the muffin tray and drizzle over the oil and molasses mixture. Add a knob of butter to each, cover with foil and bake tor 45-60 minutes, or until very soft and tender. - Remove the foil, add a little grated cheese and cook for a further to minutes uncovered. Sprinkle with the remaining thyme leaves to serve.