Caramelised Onion Gravy with Marsala Wine and Maple Syrup
Sweet, yet savoury, caramelised onion gravy cooked with olive oil and butter and flavoured with Marsala wine and maple syrup. You can serve it in many ways – our favourites are with sausages, Toad in the Hole, chicken, and with a nut roast. If you don’t have Marsala wine you can replace it with Madeira wine or white wine; alternatively you can simply add a little extra stock. If so, you may wish to add a little extra maple syrup to balance the sweetness.
This is not a difficult recipe to make but it does take time and patience. Taking the time, up to 30 minutes, to slowly cook and caramelise the onions will add a sweetness and depth of flavour to your gravy. It freezes exceptionally well, so I always make extra and freeze it in small portions for later use. It is a good thing to make when you are doing something else in the kitchen – either preparing other dishes, cleaning or even a good natter on the phone. Do not make the mistake I have made and do your ironing; all your clothes will smell of fried onion!
How to make Caramelised Onion Gravy with Marsala Wine and Maple Syrup
Collect all your ingredients together:
- onions, sliced
- olive oil
- maple syrup or honey
- Marsala wine (or extra stock plus extra maple syrup to taste )
- butter
- plain/all-purpose flour
- beef, vegetable, chicken stock or potato/vegetable cooking water
- salt
- freshly ground black pepper
You need to cook the onions in the olive oil for between 20 – 30 minutes over a moderate heat until they are caramelised and dark brown. Add the marsala wine and scrape up any of the gloriously flavourful sticky bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the butter and melt and then tip in the flour. Cook for 1 – 2 minutes, stirring continuously. Then add the stock/vegetable water, maple syrup and seasoning and cook for a further 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
Serve either as it is (which is how Charlotte and I like it) or you can strain the sauce through a sieve to remove the pieces of onion (which is how Andrew and Emma like it). The gravy will be quite thick – you may wish to add additional stock or water if you prefer a thinner consistency.
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14
Caramelised onion gravy with sausages and chicken:
With onions 
Without onions
I find that the best way to freeze onion gravy is to pour it into silicone muffin moulds, freeze, un-mould and then store them in the freezer in labelled containers or bags. Simply take out of the freezer the night before you want to use them, tip into a saucepan and leave to defrost in the fridge overnight. If you forget to take them out of the freezer ahead of time (haha – this is me!) put in a saucepan with a few tablespoons of water and sit over a low heat until defrosted. This will take around 10 minutes depending on how many you are defrosting. Alternatively you can defrost them in the microwave.
Pet update:
I haven’t provided an update about our gorgeous pets for a while. Walking our dog Arty is something we argue about in these days of COVID isolation. It provides a rare opportunity to get out of the house, enjoy the glorious warm and sunny weather and also see all the beautiful spring flowers coming into bloom; hence we all want that privilege. Luckily Arty is happy to go on as many walks as we can provide!
Meanwhile, Mimi the cat has been playing us all off against each other. On one day she begged for food from all of us and ended up eating 3 times her normal amount. She could barely move and later in the day, my husband nicknamed her the ‘vomit comet’. No further explanation required!!
Made this recipe?
If you make this recipe, do please tag me on instagram @daffodil_kitchen. You could also leave a comment in the box directly below the recipe.
Caramelised Onion Gravy with Marsala Wine and Maple Syrup
Sweet, yet savoury, caramelised onion gravy cooked with olive oil and butter and flavoured with Marsala wine and maple syrup. You can serve it in many ways – our favourites are with sausages, Toad in the Hole, chicken, and with a nut roast.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 650g onions (4 – 5 medium sized onions), peeled and sliced
- 3 – 4 teaspoons maple syrup or honey
- 4 tablespoons Marsala wine (or extra stock plus extra maple syrup or honey)
- 60g unsalted butter
- 60g plain/all-purpose flour
- 1 litre/4 cups beef, vegetable, chicken stock or potato/vegetable cooking water
- ½ – 1 teaspoon salt (This will depend on how salty your stock or vegetable cooking water is.)
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
-
Collect together your equipment (see Recipe Notes below) and ingredients.
-
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onions and cook until a medium to dark brown and very soft; this takes between 20 – 30 minutes. Stir the onions from time to time and keep an eye on the temperature, you may need to turn it down the longer you cook.
-
Add the Marsala wine and continue to cook, scraping all the sticky bits up from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon, until reduced by half.
-
Add the butter to the pan and melt. Butter can burn easily, so keep an eye on it.
-
Add the flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon.
-
Add all the stock and mix vigorously with a wooden spoon until the stock is evenly incorporated and there are no lumps. Add the ½ teaspoon salt, the pepper and half of the maple syrup. Bring to the boil, stirring continuously. Reduce the temperature and simmer gently for 10 minutes, stirring from time to time, with a wooden spoon.
-
Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary – you may need more salt or maple syrup. The amount of salt you need will depend on the how salty the stock or vegetable water is as well as your own personal taste. Serve either as it is or you can strain the sauce through a sieve to remove the pieces of onion. The gravy will be quite thick – add additional stock or water if you prefer a thinner consistency.
Recipe Notes
Equipment:
- chopping board and knife
- measuring spoons
- measuring jug/cups
- large frying pan
- sieve (optional)
Quantity:
Even if I am cooking just for Andrew and me, I always make this amount of gravy – enough for 8 people. I then freeze whatever is left over for future use.
Optional extras:
You could also add 3 – 4 stems of thyme when cooking the onions. Remove before you serve the gravy
Likewise you could add 2 bay leaves when cooking the onions. These should also be removed before you serve the gravy
You could also add a couple of cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed. Add to the onions a couple of minutes before you add the butter.
Rotisserie Skillet Roast Chicken
