Tomato-Simmered Onions

I've worked in New York City near Madison Square Park for many years. One day in 2004 a burger stand called the Shake Shack opened. It seemed like overnight, people were lining up around the park (often for close to an hour) for their juicy ShackBurgers and concretes (shakes). The line gets so long, they even have a shack cam on their website so you can peek and see how long the line is before you decide whether or not to head out.

This recipe for tomato-simmered onions is from the Shake Shack. Alone, these onions are not standing-on-a-long-line worthy, but they do dress up a homemade burger very nicely.

TOMATO-SIMMERED ONIONS

Yield: 4 cups

1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced
1/3 cup champagne vinegar
1/2 cup tomato purée
salt to taste

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1.      In a large sauté pan over medium heat, heat oil until shimmering. Add onions and season with a generous pinch of salt. Cook until very soft but not browned, about 15 minutes.

2.      Add vinegar to pan and simmer for 10 minutes.

3.      Add tomato purée and simmer for another 10 minutes.

from Shake Shack (New York, NY)

onions

sliced onions

onions just added to the pan

vinegar added

adding the tomato puree

ready for the cookout

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