Red Onion Gravy & Mint Sauce

As a child treats were treats.  I had them rarely and on special occasions.  With supermarkets now on most of our doorsteps, and in some cases driving to your doorstep, it’s a common practice to buy in bulk, get tempted by the 2 for 1 offers and end up with a stash of goodies that need to be hidden from the tempted.  At this stage the kids manage to sniff them out and I’m met with empty wrappers when I go in search of a mid-morning pick me up.
 And what on earth you may ask has this got to do with Red Onion Gravy & Mint Sauce?  Well, as I mentioned treats were rare in my childhood, and if you were STARVING and in search of a snack, you made do with whatever you could scrounge up. For my neighbour Ronan, that was butter and sugar sandwiches, for my brother Brian, it was tomato ketchup sandwiches, and for me it was vinegar sandwiches.  Yes, vinegar.  I still love the stuff and anything that it’s related to, hence the balsamic vinegar laden red onion gravy and white vinegar saturated mint sauce.
(I promised this Red Onion Gravy recipe a few posts back to Colette to go with the mustardy mash – so here you go!  Delicious with Bangers & Mash.)

Red Onion Gravy
You will need:
1 tbsp olive oil
2 red onions
5 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp dark brown sugar
500ml beef stock
Method:
Peel, half and thinly slice the red onions.
Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over a low heat and add the onions to soften with the lid on for 15 minutes.
Raise the heat and add the balsamic vinegar and brown sugar and let it bubble for 2 minutes.
Add the stock, bring to the boil, then reduce to simmer and thicken for 10 minutes.

Mint Sauce:
You will need:
Small bunch of mint leaves
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp caster sugar
6 tbsp boiling water
Method:
Finely chop the mint.
Add the vinegar, caster sugar and boiling water and leave to cool (you may need to add more water depending on consistency).
Store refrigerated in a sterilised jar.
Great with lamb or mashed into potatoes.
Enjoy.
Til next time, Sheila.