Giada’s Onion Marmellata

Serve over chops, pork roast or roast chicken. 

 

1/4 cup olive oil 4 large onions, thinly sliced (about 3 pounds) 

1/4 cup orange marmalade 

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary 

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme 

1 teaspoon kosher salt

 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 

1 tablespoon sugar (or more to taste)

 

 Use a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and the onions. Stir to combine and cook until starting to sizzle, about 2 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients. Reduce the heat to low. Cover the pan and cook over low heat for 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes to scrape up any brown bits. The onions should be a soft, jam-like consistency and a deep mahogany color. To serve, spoon the onion marmellata over pork chops, chicken, or pork roast. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley. Serve immediately. 

Note: 1. Giada was born Giada Pamela De Laurentiis in Rome, Italy, the eldest child of actress Veronica De Laurentiis. De Laurentiis, a self-proclaimed chocoholic, studied at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France with aspirations of becoming a pastry chef.

After returning to the United States, she became a professional chef working in several Los Angeles restaurants, notably the Wolfgang Puck-owned Spago. She later worked as a food stylist, and was contacted by Food Network after styling a piece in Food & Wine Magazine in 2002. Her cooking program, Everyday Italian, has been broadcast on Food Network since 2003. On her Chefography (a Food Network biography program), she admitted that she never wanted to be in her "family business" of show business. She felt very uncomfortable in front of the camera when she first began hosting Everyday Italian, but has since become more relaxed and open on air. When the program first aired, Food Network received emails accusing the network of hiring a model or actress pretending to cook instead of a real chef.